Settlement reached in lead contamination case

PWSA to pay half-million for high lead levels in 2016

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will pay $500,000 to settle charges it negligently exposed its customers to high levels of lead in drinking water during water line replacement work in 2016.

The settlement agreement, announced by PWSA and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Thursday, also requires the authority to hire an independent monitor to provide reports about ongoing lead line replacement work to the Office of Attorney General, PWSA, and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

“By failing to inform residents of the impact of the replacement program, PWSA prevented residents from knowing when and how to take simple steps that would have protected their health,” Mr. Shapiro said in a statement on the settlement.

Childhood lead exposure can have severe health consequences, affecting mental capacity and causing behavioral problems and learning disabilities.

The AG’s office charged PWSA in February 2019 with 161 thirddegree misdemeanors, alleging the authority failed to properly notify Pittsburgh residents of potential health risks related to the lead line replacements, and failed to collect timely water samples when it removed certain lead service lines in 2016 and 2017, thus violating the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Each of the criminal counts would have cost PWSA about $2 million under state rules. In November 2017, PWSA entered into a consent order agreement with DEP related to the same violations that included a civil penalty of $2.4 million.

“The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is supposed to serve the people — and when residents were unnecessarily exposed to a temporary spike in drinking water lead levels caused by PWSA’s own pipe-replacement

program — they failed,” the attorney general said.

PWSA Executive Director Will Pickering issued a statement apologizing to the authority’s customers and noted it has worked cooperatively with regulators on a robust lead service line replacement program.

“I want to make sure our customers know PWSA is deeply sorry for not meeting the standards you expect of us and we expect of ourselves,” Mr. Pickering said in a release. “We’ve shifted our culture and priorities since 2016 and 2017, revising our compliance systems, enhancing public outreach, and dramatically increasing our lead line replacement program. I want our customers to know that we are committed to public health and safety, and that their well-being is our top priority.”

In January 2019, PWSA approved $35.9 million to continue lead line replacements.

Mr. Pickering said since the 2017 DEP settlement the authority implemented a Community Lead Response program and established a Community Lead Response Advisory Committee to further increase transparency and community responsiveness.

The settlement requires the authority to split the $500,000 penalty it must pay between the Safe and Healthy Homes program and Women for a Healthy Environment’s “Get the Lead Out, Pittsburgh” program.

“We look forward to working with community partners, PWSA, the Mayor’s office and the Attorney General’s office to enact changes to make our communities safer,” Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, executive director, Women for a Healthy Environment, said in a written statement.

High lead water levels have been a concern for the PWSA service area since 2016, and have exceeded federal lead action levels in five of the last eight 6month testing periods, though not in the last half of 2019.

In January, PWSA began using the additive orthophosphate, a food grade chemical, throughout its water distribution system to coat the inside of pipes and reduce corrosion that could release lead into the water supply.

In March, the state Public Utility Commission approved an agreement that requires PWSA, which was placed under commission supervision in 2017, to complete the removal of lead service lines by 2026.

Approximately 7,000 public service lines and 4,400 private service lines have been replaced since July 2016, according to PWSA. As of March, 12,000 lead service line pipes remain in the system that serves 83,000 customers.

“I want to make sure our customers know PWSA is deeply sorry for not meeting the standards you expect of us and we expect of ourselves.”

— Will Pickering,

PWSA executive director