Free filters, loan program help tackle lead problem

City residents concerned about lead levels in their drinking water soon will be able to get a free filter and also some help paying for replacement of lead-containing service lines.

Mayor Bill Peduto announced Wednesday the establishment of a $1 million “Safe Water Plan” aimed at providing free lead filters to every Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Pennsylvania American Water Co. customer in the city.

“This is a stopgap. This is a Band-Aid on a solution that's going to be over a decade in solving,” the mayor said. “Decades of inadequate maintenance of our infrastructure has led to a situation where our pipes are breaking.

“The system itself is in disrepair. And hundreds of millions of dollars will be needed to solve it over the course of the next decade or more. But in the meantime, we want to make sure children, parents and grandparents all have safe

drinking water."

Thursday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh will vote on implementation of a $500,000 Replace Old Lead Line Program, which will offer lowincome property owners loans at 3 percent interest to cover the costs of replacing their lead service lines. Line replacement costs run from $3,000 to more than $10,000.

PWSA’s treated water contains no detectable lead, but it can pick up lead in corroded service lines — the pipes that carry water from mains beneath the street into residences, and from soldered pipe joints and interior plumbing. It’s a concern because lead exposure can cause serious health problems, especially for children and pregnant women.

PWSA estimates that 25 percent of its 80,000 customers get their water through lead service lines. It doesn’t know where many of those lines are located but is conducting research to find out.

Priority in issuing the water filters will be given to residents whose lines test at or above 10 parts per billion for lead, those in areas where the PWSA will be doing its own lead service line replacements starting this spring, and to low-income residents, the city said.

Many details remain to be worked out, including when the program will begin, but it will be administered by the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Pennsylvania American, the city’s two public water providers.

Plans are to give homeowners and renters “point of use” filters to be installed at the tap. The city will also offer to install “point of entry” filters on water service lines going into schools, community and senior centers and other public buildings.

Peoples Natural Gas has volunteered to pay for half of the initial $1 million program cost, with the city and PWSA each paying a quarter of the cost.

“Peoples Gas is once again proving itself as one of Pittsburgh's greatest corporate citizens,” Mr. Peduto said in a news release, noting that the company offers grants to customers in need of assistance in replacing home appliances.

“PWSA customers are also Peoples Gas customers, and Peoples is proud to partner with the City and PWSA to address the most immediate and pressing need to assure safe drinking water,” said Morgan O'Brien, Peoples president and chief executive officer.

The mayor’s announcement comes after calls by Councilwoman Deb Gross, a PWSA board member, to provide filters to water users facing high rates of lead in their water.

“I'm incredibly grateful to the city and Peoples Natural Gas and PWSA for committing the monies,” Ms. Gross said. “Last week, we were really prioritizing households with children. And today, a week later, we're talking about all households in the City of Pittsburgh.”

Aly Shaw, organizer for the Our Water Campaign, a coalition of organizations working on water issues, issued a statement supporting the free filter program.

“These filters are a critical first step as we work to make sure our water system remains a reliable public resource that provides everyone access to clean, lead-free water,” Ms. Shaw said. “We look forward to getting these filters into homes, schools and community centers as fast as possible, and making sure that residents have a seat at the table as we develop longer-term plans for meeting our city's water needs.”

The URA loan program, if approved, will offer loans up to $10,000, with repayment schedules up to 10 years. The program would be offered to borrowers with incomes below 120 percent of the area median income.

According to a URA report on the proposed loan program, the PWSA must annually replace about 1,450 lead water service lines it owns in the public right of way. The program would provide financial assistance to homeowners for replacement of privately owned lead lines leading into their homes.

Although Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner was “encouraged” by the mayor's free filter program, she said in a release that the proposed low interest loan program for service line replacement would be burdensome for low-income families and doesn't adequately address what she termed the city's “public health drinking water crisis.”

She said the PWSA is better suited to take on the expense of replacing the private water lines, and she noted that many Urban Redevelopment Authority loan programs are zero interest or provide grant money that doesn’t have to be repaid.

“With water and sewer rates rapidly increasing as it is, it is shocking that the city proposes to place an additional burden on homeowners,” she said.

“This is a stopgap. This is a Band-Aid on a solution that's going to be over a decade in solving. Decades of inadequate maintenance of our infrastructure has led to a situation where our pipes are breaking.” — Mayor Bill Peduto