Pa. Senate approves bills to let cities replace private water lines

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority has argued for months it legally can't replace customer water lines, even if they're made of lead.

Wednesday, state legislators voted to remove any legal hurdles standing in the PWSA's way.

The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved two bills from Sen. Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny County) allowing municipalities and cities to replace private lines, especially when public health is at risk.

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The bills also open the door for the state to help fund what's estimated to be a $400 million project in Pittsburgh alone.

For years the city has only been replacing public water lines made of lead. That program was put on hold earlier this month when water tests showed the change caused lead levels to rise in a handful of homes.

The passage of the bill comes as the city works to find its own way to legally replace the lines as quickly as possible.

"If that does occur, then it won't be necessary for the city to act in a third-party way and we'll have a much cleaner way of doing this with simply the PWSA being given the authority to remove those lines," Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said.

Fontana's bill could be combined with a House bill that would give the Public Utility Commission oversight of the embattled PWSA. The PWSA is dealing with a laundry list of problems, as Target 11 and 11 Investigates have detailed and covered over the past year, including elevated levels of lead in the water to go with century-old pipes.

Peduto estimates a $411 million price tag to replace all the lead lines.

"To give people expectations that it's going to be done tomorrow is unrealistic," Peduto said. "This will take a decade. To give people expectations that it won't cost them money is unrealistic."

Peduto said he expects line replacements to start up by the end of June, but before crews can replace some of the lines, they still need to find where they are.

Pittsburgh City Council is also considering legislation permitting the city to replace the entirety of lead water service lines:

City Council voted to table the issue until next week or the following week.

The controversial program to conduct partial replacements of lead service lines started in May, but

Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage.

RELATED: 

• State lawmaker calls on PWSA to replace lead lines
• PWSA halts replacement of water lines after finding lead levels increasing

Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner issued the following statement on Wednesday:

"Acknowledgement by the city that it can and must act to protect the health of its citizens from dangerous lead water service lines is significant and long overdue. However, until the city commits to firm deadlines by which all lead lines will be located and replaced, we are no closer to a solution. City officials continue to disseminate outlandish cost projections many times above what Pennsylvania American Water has estimated for line replacements in the PWSA's own backyard, and what other cities around the country have achieved with their own programs. There is no explanation for this continued misinformation other than as an excuse and a delaying tactic. City residents who have already been drinking poisoned water for more than three years due to the PWSA's illegal actions cannot be forced to wait another 14 for help, as the Mayor's stated timetable indicates. A smart, most livable city would not risk the well-being of a whole generation of its children. While it is a vital first step for the City to accept that a solution is necessary and possible, acceptance is not enough. Action is required now."

Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage.

Cox Media Group