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Pittsburgh, PA - Earlier this week, Pittsburgh Water reached a significant milestone in its Community Lead Response with the replacement of its 12,000th lead service line. The work came at no direct cost to customers, reflecting the organization’s commitment to protect public health and deliver equitable water service.

There is no “safe” level of lead in drinking water. Therefore, Pittsburgh Water is committed to replacing all residential lead lines in the system, both publicly and privately-owned, to improve water quality for their customers now and into the future. While the organization works to replace all these lead lines, they have implemented a highly effective corrosion control treatment that keeps lead levels at record lows and protects customers while continuing their multimillion-dollar replacement efforts.

“Completing another thousand lead service line replacements puts us one step closer to removing all residential lead service lines in our system,” said Pittsburgh Water CEO Will Pickering. “Providing this service for free in in the areas most at-risk for lead exposure means customers will not have to bear the financial impact of removing this legacy infrastructure,” he said.

This achievement comes weeks after a special visit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Head of Water, Bruno Pigott, who was in town to tout millions in funding to replace lead lines and upgrade water infrastructure in the region. He was joined by U.S. Congresswoman Summer Lee and State Representative Lindsay Powell, who shared remarks on how this program has positively impacted the utility’s customers. Pigott and his team acknowledged the great progress Pittsburgh Water has made, stating they are leading the way in their efforts to remove lead. This visit came on the heels of the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, a more robust national standard for removing lead service lines across the country.

Leading the Nation in Lead Line Replacement

Pittsburgh Water has been heavily focused on removing lead service lines and improving water quality since 2016, when their Community Lead Response program first began. They tout this Community Lead Response as a carefully tailored program, strategically and thoughtfully designed to best serve their customers. Some of its features include:

• Residential lead service line replacements – at no direct cost to the customer - with an average of 1,500 replaced every year since 2016.
• Free lead test kits for residential customers.
• Mapped service line material data.
• Stringent lead testing parameters to comply with state and federal regulations and provide customers with the best available data on water quality.
• A Lead Line Reimbursement Program, for those who want to proactively replace the private side of their lead line before a Pittsburgh Water project reaches them.
• A dedicated Lead Help Desk, which addresses all lead-related questions and concerns for customers.
• State and federal funding sources that keep the cost of the program as low as possible.

This customer-first approach has drawn the attention of water utilities, regulators, and industry professionals from across the country. Pittsburgh Water’s Community Lead Response team has consulted with 32 organizations since 2021, sharing best practices and lessons learned with those just starting their lead line replacement journey.

Replacing All Lead Lines

Pittsburgh Water aims to replace all residential lead lines in their system by 2027, a little over 10 years since the program began. This schedule for completion will allow the utility to maximize federal funding, which comes with increased grant money, while it is available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This approach will maintain a steady, aggressive pace toward removing the remaining lead lines while putting the least financial impact on Pittsburgh Water’s ratepayers.

Injection of funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law expedites replacement of 10 miles of water mains, hundreds of lead service lines in five Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

Pittsburgh, PA – Block-by-block, neighborhood-by-neighborhood, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) is proactively replacing aging water mains and removing lead service lines. The $69 million award, recently received from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST), provides funding to continue this essential work to protect public health and enhance water reliability across our drinking water service area.  

This funding, provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), is split between a $5 million grant that does not need to be repaid, and a $64 million low-interest loan. It will save our ratepayers approximately $85 million over the next thirty years when compared to traditional financing through municipal bonds.

“We thank the Board of PENNVEST, Governor Shapiro, the EPA, and the Biden Administration for their continued support to make PWSA’s water system lead-free with this award,” said PWSA CEO Will Pickering. “These projects allow PWSA to replace aging water mains, remove lead service lines, and strengthen our drinking water system for generations to come.” 

With this award, PWSA estimates replacing 10 miles of aging water mains across five Pittsburgh neighborhoods including Brighton Heights, Squirrel Hill, North Point Breeze, Bloomfield, and Lower Lawrenceville. We’ll also replace 1,046 lead service lines - specifically, 483 private and 563 public lines. Proactively removing lead service lines is the most effective way to eliminate the presence of lead in drinking water.   

Meeting Federal Standards
Since its inception in 2016, our Community Lead Response has concentrated on providing community resources and education on the dangers of lead in drinking water, optimizing the water treatment process to reduce corrosion of lead lines, and replacing all residential public and private lead lines in the system. As an industry leader in lead line replacements, PWSA has consulted with water utilities and governments across the country on best-practices for their programs.  

Low-interest loans and grant funding makes it possible for PWSA to fund more lead service line replacements annually. PWSA is nationally recognized for its quick and efficient usage of federal infrastructure dollars. With the new Lead and Copper Rule revisions, we are prepared to comply with the standards established by federal regulators thanks to the development of our robust Community Lead Response program. 

Investing in Our Future
As stewards of a vital public resource, PWSA is committed to protecting the public health of our customers by reducing lead levels and replacing lead lines at no direct cost to ratepayers. To date, we have replaced more than 11,600 public lead service lines and more than 8,000 private lines in our drinking water system. We are prioritizing this work to improve the quality and safety of drinking water for current and future generations of Pittsburgh families. 

“Pursuing alternative funding streams, like PENNVEST, allows us to put ratepayer dollars towards other ambitious infrastructure investments while reducing the financial burden on our customers,” said Ed Barca, PWSA’s Director of Finance.  

Since 2018, PWSA has received from PENNVEST a combination of $81 million in grants and $702 million in low-interest loans, totaling $783 million. Pursuing external funding from state and federal partners helps reduce the cost to ratepayers over time during an unprecedented level of investment in our essential water systems.  

As a publicly owned and operated water utility, every dollar we receive is reinvested directly back into the water systems that serve those living and working in Pittsburgh. To learn more about our finances and use of ratepayer dollars, please visit https://www.pgh2o.com/about-us/finance.

Waterway pollution resulting from combined sewer overflows is a persistent problem in Paris and an issue we know all too well here in the Paris of Appalachia. Here, more about what PWSA plans to do.

As athletes from around the world descended upon Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, an unexpected opponent was lurking in the River Seine: pollution. Heavy rains had fallen in the days preceding the event, and the city’s overburdened sewer system delivered a mix of stormwater and sewage into the water, leading to a litany of logistical hurdles and delays for swimming events.

Waterway pollution resulting from combined sewer overflows is a persistent problem in Paris and an issue we know all too well here in the Paris of Appalachia. Here we too are contending with an outdated sewer system that struggles to meet the challenges of managing stormwater in a modern city.

Combined sewers, which represent nearly 75% of our system, carry both stormwater and sewage. When overtaxed by heavy rain, combined sewers can contribute to issues like basement backups and flooding and pollute streams and rivers.
It's a Herculean effort to modernize our sewers, but PWSA is up to the challenge.

We recently kicked off our South Side Flats Sewer Separation Project, a $10 million investment to separate the combined sewers, install a new water main, and replace lead service lines in an area frequently affected by overflows and basement backups during heavy rains.

Visit our project web map to read about other PWSA projects that will protect our rivers, environment, and communities for generations to come.