OUT WITH THE OLD

City pushes forward with complete lead line replacements for PWSA customers

Pittsburgh is pressing forward with plans to eliminate decades-old lead service connections, including privately owned segments of the water pipes.

With a unanimous vote, City Council passed legislation Tuesday that positions the city to help Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority customers replace private lead service lines when PWSA completes adjacent line work.

Funding mechanisms have yet to be established, but the policy is set to assist customers with at least a portion of their private line replacement costs. Lower-income households may escape any out-ofpocket expense through state- and city-backed aid offerings, according to Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration, which crafted the legislation.

Private service line replacements can cost several thousand dollars, estimates suggest.

“It might be easy for someone rich to be able to change their lines, but it isn’t for those who are lowand moderate-income,” Councilwoman Darlene Harris said. “Actually, it’s a real challenge.”

Elevated lead test results last year triggered a federal remediation rule, mandating that PWSA replace at least 7 percent of its lead service lines each year. A service line connects a customer’s household plumbing to a water main beneath the street.

The replacement mandate applies only to the public portion of those service lines, which is closest to the main. PWSA pays for that work. But the private, customerowned section of line, which finishes the connection into the building, often includes lead, too.

Legislation passed Tuesday will allow the city to act as a legal vehicle to line up contractors and perform private-side replacements — with customer permission — when PWSA removes the public-side lead lines. Private-side work under

the concept could begin next year. Funding proposals from the Peduto administration are expected by this fall.

PWSA has estimated that as many as 25 percent of 71,000 water service connections contain lead. Ongoing inspections are helping to identify lead connections. The authority has said replacing them all could take about 14 years and cost $363 million.

Meanwhile, pending state legislation would let municipal authorities like PWSA spend government funds on private water lines when a threat menaces public health or safety. If that measure passes, the Peduto administration has said, the city could transfer responsibility for the private-line replacements to PWSA itself. The authority has replaced more than 400 public-side lead lines since last July.

Also Tuesday, City Council passed related legislation that mandates water service line disclosures at PWSAserved residential properties built before 1970. Under the provision, a property seller will need to take a photo of the service line and send it to PWSA. The image should show a “scratch test” that reveals the pipe material, according to the legislation.

City officials have said the idea is to help raise awareness and knowledge about lead service lines, which can cause lead contamination. Also under the rule, landlords of pre-1970 homes are required to give renters a similar photo, along with information about how to interpret the image. Exposure to lead is tied to developmental andother health problems.