The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is making an offer that customers shouldn’t refuse. As the agency continues removing its lead-tainted service lines and installing safer pipes this year, it also is willing to replace — at no charge — the portion of line from the curb to the home that normally is the property owner’s responsibility. 

By taking advantage of this opportunity, homeowners can protect their families from lead exposure and do their part to improve the overall quality of the city’s infrastructure.

Under a consent order from the state Department of Environmental Protection, PWSA must replace 7 percent of its lead service lines annually. That translates into about 2,100 lines this year, with more than 700 of them carried over from 2017. Yet replacement of agency lines doesn’t eliminate the risk of lead exposure. That’s because there’s also potentially lead in the homeowner’s portion of a line, and sometimes replacing only the public portion increases the amount of lead on the homeowner’s side.

Residents can make drinking water safer by installing filters on their spigots, but PWSA’s offer of free line replacement, worth thousands of dollars per dwelling, is the more logical choice. So far, PWSA has contacted about 450 customers and heard back only from 60 percent. About half of those who responded agreed to the free line replacement, while others have declined, sometimes because they’re concerned about damage to trees or retaining walls that PWSA wouldn’t remediate.

PWSA can’t force customers to take advantage of free line replacement, but it would be foolhardy for anyone to pass it up. That goes for homeowners, who should act to protect their families, as well as landlords, who are responsible for the quality of the housing they lease to others. Property owners who fail to address lead lines now will face long-term consequences, including diminished real-estate values. A retaining wall is no reason to put off the work.

While PWSA’s operational and management problems are numerous, none poses more concern than elevated levels of lead in the drinking water that the agency provides to much of the city. The risks are both to public health and public reputation. The specter of becoming the next Flint, Mich., where a lead emergency has poisoned and cognitively damaged thousands of children, should give all post-industrial communities pause.

Pittsburgh may be in the midst of a remarkable economic transformation — one with a strong shot at landing Amazon’s second headquarters — but a broken water system could arrest the progress at any time. Progressive employers want reliable drinking water. They want a sewer system that disposes of waste without fouling rivers and basements. They want safe housing stock for their employees.

For PWSA, which goes under state oversight next month, the free line replacement is an important step in repairing its reputation. Homeowners need to do their part. Accepting the free line replacement is a way to safeguard their health, protect their real estate investments and keep the city moving forward.

First Published: March 29, 2018, 4:00 a.m.