FOLLOWING YET ANOTHER LANDMARK YEAR, we’re confident that PWSA has never been in a better position to fulfill our mission: to support our region by protecting public health and the environment through the delivery of safe and reliable water services.
Our team of talented public servants and water professionals remains committed to rebuilding trust with those we serve and modeling transparency in our daily work. In the summer of 2022, we conducted a robust, service-area-wide customer satisfaction survey to shed more light on those critical areas, gaining a better perspective into what they expect from a trusted community utility partner like PWSA.
Respondents were nearly unanimous in their conclusion that PWSA should be communicative and transparent about drinking water quality, our role to protect public health, and our responsibility to plan for future improvements in the water system. In addition, approximately 80 percent of respondents signaled their support for PWSA using ratepayer dollars to invest funds to maintain, improve, and modernize water infrastructure.
In 2022 alone, we made great strides in those key areas. Award-winning, nationally recognized initiatives like our Community Lead Response have moved the needle on getting the lead out of our drinking water system. In fact, since 2020, we’ve recorded some of the lowest lead levels in our history. In the years ahead, we’ll continue those efforts to get the lead out, and efforts to prioritize transparency and proactive communication around the quality of your drinking water.
In the past year, we passed several key milestones in our slate of Water Reliability Plan projects, including the replacement of our Highland II Reservoir liner and cover, a massive undertaking, but one that showcases our commitment to the maintenance and improvement of our essential water distribution system now and into the future.
As a publicly owned and operated utility, every dollar we receive from ratepayers is reinvested back into our system, meaning that none of the above achievements could be realized without the responsible investment of ratepayer dollars. To complement that crucial funding source, PWSA continues to maximize ratepayer savings through the successful pursuit of state and federal funding.
The following full YEAR IN REVIEW provides a more comprehensive overview regarding the work we have undertaken in the past year to support our ongoing transformation to a trusted community utility partner of the future.
All of us on Team PGH2O are proud to share the following 2022 accomplishments with you, our valued stakeholders and customers. We’re confident of the path we’re on and are committed to continuous growth and evolution so we can best serve the communities that rely on us each day for safe and reliable water services.
Sincerely,
William J. Pickering
Chief Executive Officer