On September 18, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority reported it is 10 months ahead of DEP's required replacement schedule for lead drinking water service lines by completing 855 replacements before the June 30, 2020 deadline. 

Lead line replacements will continue, with thousands more still slated for replacement under the 2019 program. To-date, the dedicated Lead Help customer service team has collected 5,282 agreements from customers just this year to work with PWSA and replace their lead line and improve water quality in their home.

“We’re very pleased with the productivity that our Community Lead Response Team and contractor crews have achieved so far,” said Executive Director Robert A. Weimar. “Even though we met our regulatory requirement, we will continue to focus on getting the lead out and improving water quality for all our customers.”

The 2019 Lead Service Line Replacement Program kicked off in spring of 2019 and is funded by a combination of low-interest loans and grants from PennVEST. This $49 million program is replacing public lead service lines as well as private lead lines when they are found connected to a public lead line.

These private replacements, as well as plumbing upgrades that are required as a result of the work, come at no cost to the customer.

Since PWSA’s lead line replacement program first began in 2016, more than 4,800 public lead lines and 2,885 private lines have been replaced.

PWSA has also upgraded its corrosion control treatment, lowering lead levels throughout the service area while lead lines are replaced. This treatment has proven effective, with lead levels trending downward since the corrosion control upgrade in April 2019.

For more information on PWSA’s Community Lead Response Program webpage.

Visit DEP’s Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority webpage for information on actions taken by DEP on drinking water issues.

NewsClips:

Pittsburgh Water Authority Replaces 855 Lead Service Lines Ahead Of Schedule In 2019

Editorial: Mandated Testing For Lead Poisoning In Children Not Enough

Residents, Pets Rescued In Flood From Massive Water Main Break In Carrick, Allegheny County

AP: Water Main Break In Pittsburgh Turns Streets Into Rapids, Requires Rescues

Pittsburgh Residents Recount Horror Of Rising Water From Massive Water Main Break

PA American Water Criticized For Response To Water Main Break

Boil Water Advisory For South Hills Pittsburgh to Last Until Sunday

Lancaster County Has Around 38,000 Private Wells, There Are No State Standards For Any Of Them

State Experts Say You Should Get Your Well Tested Annually

O’Neill: Ingomar United Methodist Church Leads Effort To Bring Clean Water To People Around The World

Click Here for all of last week’s Environment & Energy NewsClips

Related Article:

New Allegheny County Sanitary Authority Agreement With Feds Includes Green Infrastructure, $2 Billion Plan To Help Control 6.6 Billion Gallons Of Wet Weather Sewer Overflows

[Posted: September 19, 2019]

9/22/2019