Millvale's water records hard to find, missing altogether

PITTSBURGH — More problems for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority are coming to light after residents in Millvale were left waiting even longer for a recent boil water advisory to be lifted.

11 Investigates asked why and found out Millvale's records are hard to find or even missing altogether.

PWSA officials say the water is now safe to drink after inconsistent chlorine tests led the PWSA to issue a five-day water boil water advisory for Millvale that ended Sunday night.

What caused those inconsistencies is still unclear.

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The PWSA has been providing Millvale with water for decades, but the utility didn't take over the system until 2009.

Interim Executive Director Bob Weimar told 11 Investigates they're having trouble determining where problems are originating.

"Records are only as good as the people who kept them,” Weimar said. “The records we have are not consistent nor, do we believe, complete."

That makes it difficult for the PWSA to find and fix problems, like with the boil water advisory last weekend.

Weimar says it is investigating where the problems are, but admits improvements could be further down the road.

"We have a number of water quality and piping issues that will demand some investments,” Weimar said. “At this point, we have not had the funding necessary to do that. We hope to have that as we move forward."

Channel 11 contacted Millvale Borough to ask who was responsible for repairs and record keeping before 2009, but the borough manager declined to comment.

Cox Media Group