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Board president: Lead line replacement likely to bring rate hikes for PWSA customers

Board president: Lead line replacement likely to bring rate hikes for PWSA customers

Customers of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will probably see higher rates as the agency replaces its lead water lines over the next 15 years, the PWSA board president warned Friday.

Alex W. Thomson said the replacement project is likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Although PWSA will look to federal and and state government sources for help, he said, “some of it will fall on the ratepayers.”

“We’re very cognizant of the impact of rate hikes on fixed-income retirees,” said Mr. Thomson, who added that the agency is examining how best to split the burden between residential and commercial customers. But “I think even fixed-income residential ratepayers are going to experience some rate hikes.”

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It’s too soon to say how significant those increases might be, Mr. Thomson said.

His remarks followed a PWSA meeting where board members approved a yearlong pilot project to replace 80 lead service lines in different parts of the city. Workers haven’t picked which lines they will target under the initial effort, which should help the agency coordinate excavation with other entities that have buried utility lines, PWSA leaders said.

They also hope the pilot will help them estimate and control line-replacement expenses for the following 14 years, they said.

Earlier this year, the state Department of Environmental Protection mandated that the agency begin a program to replace its lead water lines after test results found elevated levels of the metal in some homes. Under a state order, PWSA must replace at least 7 percent of the lines each year.

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Similar revelations about lead pipes have rattled cities across the country. In Pittsburgh, state requirements also mandate that PWSA estimate its total number of lead service lines by Sept. 30, said agency spokesman Brendan Schubert. The census and repair work applies only to PWSA-owned lead service lines that connect to customer-owned service lines that bring water into the home.

PWSA can’t use public funds to replace customer-owned lead connection pipes, but the agency encourages affected property owners to do that work when workers excavate to address the agency’s portions, said Robert Weimar, a PWSA engineering director.

“Where we can, we are assisting the homeowners in the process,” Mr. Weimar said.

Also Friday, Mr. Thomson said PWSA will hire a full-time employee to focus on lead matters. He said the employee, to be a special assistant to the executive director, will help speed customers’ requests for water testing and assist them in interpreting the results, among other tasks.

Adam Smeltz: 412-263-2625, asmeltz@post-gazette.com, @asmeltz.

First Published: September 17, 2016, 4:33 a.m.

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