We share the best-available service line material as well as past, present, and future work locations at pgh2o.com/leadmap.
Pittsburgh, PA – Beginning later this week, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) will send letters to all remaining water customers with a record of "lead," "galvanized iron," or "unknown" service line material. This notification complies with new federal regulations and provides customers with the best possible information about their service line material.
A service line is the piping that connects your household or building plumbing to the water main in the street. For residential service lines, ownership is split between PWSA and the property owner. PWSA owns the section of the service line from the water main to the curb stop, while the section from the curb stop to inside the structure is owned by the property owner. The result could indicate the pipe material on one or both portions of the service line.
Since 2019, we have maintained record-low lead levels by using orthophosphate to create a protective barrier within lead pipes. However, it is important for our customers to understand that there is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Through our Community Lead Response, we will continue to aggressively identify and replace lead service lines throughout the system. Notifying those remaining locations with lead, galvanized iron, or unknown service lines will allow customers to take precautions and better understand the water infrastructure at their property.
PWSA remains committed to removing all lead service lines from our drinking water system and is making consistent progress to achieve this goal. Since 2016, we have replaced more than 11,600 public lead service lines and more than 8,000 private ones.
“We hope this letter serves as a helpful update to our customers about their service line material and can lead to informed decisions about their water quality,” said PWSA CEO Will Pickering. “While our lead testing results are at record-lows, we still want to ensure residents take common-sense precautions while we identify and replace the remaining lead lines in our system,” he said.
Ready for Enhanced Regulations
As part of new Lead and Copper Rule revisions, all water systems in the United States are required to send this notice to customers with lead, galvanized iron, or unknown service line material on an annual basis. With years of prioritizing lead service line removal and water quality optimization, PWSA is confident that it will comply with all upcoming revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule.
Why are Service Lines Important?
A typical service line at a residential property. Commercial properties own the entirety of their water service line.
Lead is not found in our source water, at the water treatment plant, or in the public water mains that carry drinking water throughout the system. Service lines, however, can be made of lead.
We recently submitted our service line inventory to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection with the following data about approximately 83,000 service lines in our water service area. To view our service line inventory in its entirety, visit our Lead Map.
Through various inspection and replacement projects, we have confirmed the service line material for approximately two-thirds of the service lines in our system. Numerous data points are required to confirm a service line’s material, which can include excavation, visual inspection, or historical records at time of construction. The remaining third will be identified in the coming years through inspections and lead service line replacement projects.
PWSA remains committed to removing all lead service lines from our drinking water system and is making consistent progress to achieve this goal. Since 2016, we have replaced more than 11,600 public lead service lines and more than 8,000 private ones.
What does an “unknown” result mean?
An unknown result means that we do not have adequate data at a property to determine the material of the service line. Since some homes in Pittsburgh are 100+ years old, our original records for a home can be outdated, missing, or hard to read.
A service line of unknown material could be made of lead, so we recommend our customers take the same precautions listed below for lead service lines. All customers are requested to take a brief survey to help us identify the material of their private service lines.
Tips to Reduce Lead Exposure
- PWSA provides free lead test kits to residential water customers who want to better understand their water quality. Request a lead test kit at pgh2o.com/leadform.
- Run your water to flush out lead. If the water has not been used for several hours, run the water for 15-30 seconds to flush lead from interior plumbing or run the water until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using your water for cooking or drinking. Use only cold water for cooking and drinking.
- Do NOT use water from the hot water tap to make baby formula.
- Do NOT boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead.
- Look for alternative sources or treatment of water, such as the use of a pitcher filter that is certified to remove lead. Replace the cartridges on a routine frequency or use bottled water.
- Identify and replace plumbing fixtures containing lead. Brass faucets, fittings, and valves, including those advertised as “lead free” installed prior to 2014 may contribute lead to drinking water because the law allowed fixtures with up to 8% lead to be labeled as lead free.
- Regularly clean your aerators/screens on plumbing fixtures. Sediment, debris, and lead particles can collect in your aerator. If lead particles are caught in the aerator, lead can get into your water.
What Happens Next?
Our water customers who receive this letter are not required to do anything. It simply aims to keep them informed about their service line material.
Over the next few years, we will continue to improve our inventory and investigate locations with an "unknown" result to give our customers better information about their service line. This will primarily be done through construction projects like our Lead Service Line Replacement Program and water main replacements. Residential customers who have a lead service line will have it replaced at no direct cost by PWSA.
If our customers want to replace their lead service line prior to a project entering their neighborhood, please visit www.lead.pgh2o.com/leadreimbursement/ for more information. Depending on their income, they may be eligible to have their lead water service line replaced at no cost.
If you think your result is outdated or incorrect, we welcome you to fill out a brief survey on our website.
Resources
- See all available data for service line material in our service area as well as areas where we have replaced lead lines at pgh2o.com/leadmap.
- Request a lead test kit to learn more about your water quality at pgh2o.com/leadform.
- If you think your result may be out of date or incorrect, you can provide updated information at pgh2o.com/service-line-id.
