PWSA halts lead line swap

Levels were too high at some homes with replacements

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is temporarily suspending a practice known as partial lead line replacements, which research has linked to potential contamination.

That suspension will remain in effect “until our procedures can effectively be verified, validated and modified to mitigate any possible public health risk,” PWSA said in an announcement Friday. The authority said higher-than-acceptable lead levels appeared at some homes with the partial lead line replacements.

Under state and federal regulations, each year PWSA must replace at least 7 percent of its lead service lines — individual connections that tap into a water main — after tests found elevated levels of the metal in some homes. State authorities announced the replacement mandate last year.

But those public, PWSA-controlled lines represent only part of the lead issue. A customerowned service line finishes the connection into each building, and many of those pipe segments also contain lead. Partial line replacements involve swapping out only the public segment, a process that may raise the odds of contamination when a customer’s adjacent lead line remains intact, research has shown.

Under line work that began May 3, PWSA replaced public lead service lines at 81 locations, the authority said. Forty-nine involved partial replacements where a customer’s lead line remained in place.

Eight homeowners with those partial lead line replacements submitted water samples for testing, and four of those samples showed lead levels above the allowable limit, PWSA reported. Robert Weimar, the interim executive director, said the authority wants to confirm the exact levels before releasing them

publicly.

“We did not expect those lead levels,” Mr. Weimar said. He said suspending partial lead line replacements is a precautionary measure while PWSA pursues more information.

In particular, the authority wants all customers with partial lead line replacements to take water samples after the work -— a step that’s crucial to show whether conditions “are suitable for public use,” Mr. Weimar said. Lead exposure is tied to developmental and other health problems.

“We’re going to revamp the partial lead line project so we can make sure that we’re providing a full description or characterization of the lead conditions both before and after” the replacements, Mr. Weimar said.

Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner, who urged against partial lead replacements, applauded the development.

“I am encouraged by this positive step to address our lead crisis, and pleased that city leadership is beginning to acknowledge that they have both the responsibility and the ability to remediate this problem” in a safe, costeffective way, Ms. Wagner said in a statement.

PWSA has been negotiating with the state an agreement to govern lead reductions in the water system, according to the authority. Workers will keep removing public lead lines where the effort creates a completely lead-free service connection. More than 20,000 service connections system-wide may include lead.

The authority is offering affected customers a chance to replace their lead connections when PWSA removes the public segments, and low-interest loans are available for those eligible. Pennsylvania American Water Co., which serves part of Pittsburgh, said last week that it has stopped partial lead line replacements.

Adam Smeltz: 412-2632625, asmeltz@post-gazette.com, @asmeltz.