Engineering and Construction: New Customer-Focused Guide to Development Rules and Regulations

Learn about our new Procedures Manual for Developers, a document that details the rules and regulations that all developments within the PWSA service area must follow in order to obtain water and sewer service.
The cover of our Developers Manual Front cover of the PWSA Developer's Manual

When you turn on a sink in your home or a public restroom, you expect water to come out at a constant pressure and flow down the drain at the same rate. On the surface, it seems like a simple process that has been perfected since plumbing was invented. Under the ground, it is a more complex system of pipes, connections and valves that interact in a precise manner to provide adequate water supply and sewer capacity. 

Plumbers and contractors dig and install connections to the public infrastructure every day. How does PWSA ensure that all of this work will operate properly? The Procedures Manual for Developers is a document that details the rules and regulations that all developments within the PWSA service area must follow in order to obtain water and sewer service. Required approvals, design standards, and process instructions are some of the common items addressed in the manual. The current version of the manual has remained more or less the same for 20+ years. Yearly updates always ensured that latest standards are followed.

Beginning in 2019, PWSA created a cross-departmental Developer’s Manual Working Group to dictate the yearly revisions. Engineers, customer service representatives, and public affairs staff met bimonthly to discuss and dissect the manual with three goals in mind: reduce Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), communicate our standards clearly, and create a user-friendly guide for our residential and commercial customers. This process resulted in a completely revamped 2020 Developer’s Manual, new title included. The revisions are intended to reduce staff time to review applications and plans, get plans approved in under two reviews, and eliminate change orders in the field. 

A copy of the new manual can be reviewed at pgh2o. com/developers-contractors-vendors/developers-manual-standard-details. On May 5th, 2020 at 10:30 am, we will be holding a free webinar to discuss the changes to the manual and how it will impact development. Register at:  pgh2o.com/developers-manual-webinar-rsvp.