State awards PWSA nearly $50 million for replacement of lead water lines
The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority on Wednesday approved a low-interest loan and grant totaling nearly $50 million to help the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority replace lead water lines.
The money could reduce future rate increases, Pittsburgh’s mayor and a spokesman for the water authority said.
PENNVEST will provide a $35.4 million loan at 1 percent interest over 30 years and a grant totaling $13.7 million for the replacement of 2,800 lead water lines citywide, according to PWSA spokesman Will Pickering. He said it would include 2,400 water pipes feeding private residences.
PWSA has replaced about 2,200 lines since 2016 and estimates about 12,500 remain, according to Pickering.
Mayor Bill Peduto, who is in the Middle East attending a tech conference, tweeted that the total was Pittsburgh’s largest funding award from Pennsylvania.
“It means we can replace an additional 2,800 lead lines next year …,” the mayor tweeted. “The funding may also reduce future rate increases.”
The announcement drew fire from state House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Marshall, a frequent PWSA critic, who called it a “bailout” and said it was 10 times larger than the average 2017 PENNVEST award.
“While no one has been held accountable, the state today bailed out the PWSA, which has been grossly mismanaged for decades,” Turzai said in a statement.
Pickering said the money would permit PWSA to redirect funds earmarked for new water lines to other capital improvements. The PWSA board of directors earlier this year approved a $1.1 billion, five-year capital improvement program for replacing aging pipes and equipment, some of which date back more than 100 years.
“The grant and loan are specific to (the lead line) program, but it allows us to move money that would otherwise be going to that program and put it to our other major infrastructure improvements,” Pickering said. “We’re thrilled. It’s really going to alleviate a lot of the burden on our ratepayers.”
PENNVEST, which provides funding to municipalities for water and sewer infrastructure, announced a total of $93 million for projects statewide.
PWSA earlier this year sought approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for a 17 percent rate increase for residential customers. The PUC has yet to rule on the request.
The authority has struggled since 2016 to reduce lead levels in water that exceeded a federal threshold of 15 parts per billion. PWSA in March began a $44 million lead line replacement program and is in the process of adding orthophosphate, a lead inhibiter, to drinking water. PWSA officials plan to replace lead lines in the authority service area, which includes about 300,000 people in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.
The most recent water tests released in June indicate lead levels have dropped to below 10 parts per billion.
Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bob at 412-765-2312, bbauder@tribweb.com or via Twitter @bobbauder.
