How to get water filters through city's distribution plan

PITTSBURGH — The city of Pittsburgh has announced a plan to distribute thousands of water filters to residents concerned about the lead in their water.

According to a news release from Mayor Bill Peduto’s office, priority will be given to homes with small children and those affected by partial lead line replacements.

"After decades of disinvestment, my administration and the PWSA are committed to solving lead issues once and for all. Filters are only a first step of many to come, but be sure we will solve this problem and give residents the safe and reliable water system they deserve," Peduto said.

Initially, the city's plan involved installing filters within home water lines, but that would have been too expensive.

"Just so people know, originally it was supposed to be on the tap. I think they ran the numbers and saw that was not cost appropriate," said councilman Corey O'Connor.

Instead, residents of the city of Pittsburgh and Millvale will be given water pitchers. Residents of Millvale are also eligible because they get their water from the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

"We want to get to as many customers as we possibly can and get them the support that they need in these difficult times when we are seeing lead in people's water," O'Connor said.

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Residents said it's a step in the right direction.

"I think that's a good idea," said Ryan Canty. "That's probably not a long-term solution. You still have to work on the long-term effects of where the water is coming from, the pipes it's going through - fixing that."

The city hopes to begin distributing pitchers in three weeks.

The distribution plan is in three parts:

For Residents With Partial Lead Service Line Replacements 

•

Residents of the city who receive partial lead service line replacements will have filters given to them. There is no need for residents who receive partial lead service line replacements to request filters through this website, because the filters will be automatically provided to them.

For Households with Expectant Mothers and Children Under 6 

•

There are approximately 7,000 households in the city of Pittsburgh with a child under 6 in the home. The Safe Water Program has identified over 300 family health centers, pediatricians, assistance offices and child care providers and will distribute filters directly to those providers to make sure that they can get into the hands of the most vulnerable as quickly as possible. Organizations that work with expectant mothers and children and are willing to distribute filters are asked to call 311.

For Members of the General Public 

•

All residents of the city of Pittsburgh and Millvale who are interested in testing their water may request a test kit, in addition to the filters being made available to the general public. In order to request a filter and/or a test kit, residents are asked to either visit the

or call 311.

All calls to 311 are answered by a live operator from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. In the city of Pittsburgh, dial 311. Outside Pittsburgh, call 412-255-2621.

People's Natural Gas donated $500,000 to fund the project. The city of Pittsburgh and PWSA each chipped in $250,000.

For additional information about the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority's lead remediation efforts, visit the

. Information about the city's

can be found on the

Cox Media Group