PWSA will pay for public, private water line replacement

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Don Hopey

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority adopted a lead service line policy Friday that mandates and pays for replacement of both the public and privately owned portions of those lines, prioritizing properties where pregnant women and young children live.

The policy, which the authority’s board approved by unanimous vote, formalizes PWSA’s announcement last summer that it would halt a practice known as partial line replacement, which removes only the publicly owned portion of the service line that’s connected to the water main.

Partial line replacement can dislodge or stir up lead corrosion in the private supply line, increasing customer exposure to lead, a neurotoxin that is hazardous to pregnant women, infants and small children.

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