Auditor General Eugene DePasquale Thursday announced he directed his staff to begin a performance audit of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority to shed light on what led to the recent series of water problems for city residents and businesses because of a possible breakdown in the governance of the authority.

“The trust and confidence of city residents has been eroded by a series of problems originating with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority,” DePasquale said during a news conference where City Controller Michael Lamb released a performance audit of the PWSA. “At the invitation of the authority’s board and Mayor Peduto, my team is ready to put the PWSA under a new magnifying glass.

“We know what happened. Every resident and business owner here has lived through the problems, and City Controller Michael Lamb is providing extensive recommendations to address what happened,” DePasquale said. “My team will focus on how decisions by the PWSA board may have led to the problems. I want to ensure they don’t happen again so all Pittsburghers can be assured of a safe and abundant supply of clean drinking water.”

The initial audit objective will focus on determining if the PWSA’s governance structure and decision-making process are adequate to provide effective oversight of its operations and fiduciary responsibilities.

The review will cover January 1, 2014 through the end of the audit, which is expected to be later this year.

NewsClips:

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Pittsburgh Water Authority To Shut Off Water To Leaking Water Main

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Editorial: Legislators Need To Review State Drinking Water Program Too

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[Posted: Feb. 16, 2017]

2/20/2017