Pittsburgh Struggles With Lead, Brown Water, And Rising Rates
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
Lead in Pittsburgh’s drinking water has some residents nervous about their tap water as rates continue to rise in the Rust Belt city.
Some residents have received letters from the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) stating that their tap water contains high lead levels. The U.S. EPA limit is 15 ppb. Compliance tests run by PWSA this year show the following results based on sampling at 100 residential sites, according to the authority:
- 45 are non-detect for lead
- 15 are between 2.1 and 4.6 ppb
- 7 are between 5 and 9.8 ppb
- 16 are between 10 and 14 ppb
- 6 are between 16 and 19 ppb
- 7 are between 22 and 38 ppb
- 4 are between 50 and 75 ppb
Fighting lead contamination has been a long and troubling saga in Pittsburgh. The timeline of the challenges differs from that of Flint, MI, where recent changes in the water delivery system sparked a lead contamination crisis.
“Lead levels in Pittsburgh’s water have been slowly rising since 2001, which the PWSA has blamed on its aging service line infrastructure increasingly leaching lead into its customers’ water. Average observed lead levels climbed 7 ppb between 2001 and 2013, the last time EPA-required tests were commissioned. The levels spiked that same amount — from 14.8 ppb to 22 ppb — over the last three years alone,” The Huffington Post reported last month.
“Unlike in Flint, Michigan, where sudden changes in water chemistry caused a spike, lead levels in Pittsburgh’s tap water rose steadily for 12 years, alongside cancer-causing chemicals from fracking waste,” The Guardian reported.
The latest challenge for the city’s beleaguered water provider: brown tap water.
“The Pittsburgh water and sewer authority has said the brown water issues are related to hydrant flushing or additional manganese in the water, but admitted the main breaks have contributed to the problem. It could not say how many complaints have been lodged,” The Guardian reported.
PWSA plans to continue testing for lead this year to get a clearer outlook on the problem.
“The primary objectives are identifying lines that leach excessive lead and coming up with a way to cover the cost of replacing those lines — an expense that can average $3,000 to $5,000 and falls on homeowners,” the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported, citing Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell.
The authority is also testing corrosion control methods.
“They've been cooperative throughout,” McDonnell said of PWSA.