PITTSBURGH — Stagnant water filled with green algae and bugs saturates the backyards and basements of homes on Brackenridge Street in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. It’s causing damage to everything around it.
Neighbors say the water is coming from the hillside right above their houses, home to the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Sports Complex and its 12 acres of soccer, baseball and softball fields.
As 11 Investigates Amy Hudak reports, Pitt has a very different explanation for where all that water is coming from, but neighbors aren’t buying it.
Bernadette Rainey says her backyard never used to look like an actual swamp.
“It’s green, it’s algae, it’s mosquito nesting,” Rainey showed 11 Investigates.
Rainey says decades ago, there was nothing but trees and her family and friends were able to sit outside and enjoy the backyard. Rainey says water started gushing down the hillside and pooling around her home in 2010. That’s the same year Pitt’s Petersen Sports Complex was being built, and countless trees were chopped down.
“It was like Niagara Falls coming down the hillside,” Rainey added.
She said as new soccer and ball fields were added, and development continued over the hill at Pitt, the flooding worsened.
“Each year it got worse and worse and worse,” Rainey said.
Neighbor Talise Manuel says her foundation is crumbling because of the years of water seeping into her home.
“Our houses are literally sliding down a hill,” Manuel tells 11 Investigates. “Sometimes you feel the foundation move or shake and it’s a little scary! The cost of everything - the maintenance is on us. Also, the fear of not knowing how long it will hold up or last.”
Neighbors say they have met with community liaisons for Pitt, raising their concerns about drainage and trying to find a solution.
“They do nothing,” Rainey added. “They pass it onto this person and this person who eventually tells you there is nothing they can do about it - that there’s a natural spring somewhere. I said ‘no, there’s not, there’s no natural spring!’”
Rainey says she was born and raised in the Hill District and flooding was never an issue until the development over the hillside.
“Make it make sense,” Rainey added. “They just don’t want to fix what they messed up, and they have the money to do it.”
Now these neighbors are on the hook for remediating their flooded basements, rebuilding their crumbling concrete steps and walkways and replacing everything rust has ruined.
“The university certainly has enough money to either correct the situation or place people,” Manuel added. “Why should that be on us?”
11 Investigates reached out to the University of Pittsburgh. A spokesperson says the flooding is coming from a natural spring in the hillside, adding:
“The University is aware and has worked for several years with residents on Brackenridge Street to better understand their concerns, including multiple site visits to confirm that water infrastructure installed by Pitt is working as designed. The University has also helped to facilitate on-site visits by the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, which concluded there is a natural spring in the hillside that is the primary source of excess water in the area that is exacerbated seasonally by heavy precipitation. The University is committed to continuing to work with residents in the area, and to help identify potential resources and solutions for those impacted.”
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) tells 11 Investigates it’s looked into this location multiple times over the years and, most recently, in March, they did a field review and took water samples. PWSA says they concluded the issue has nothing to do with their infrastructure, but instead, is consistent with acid mine drainage.
A spokesperson for PWSA sent the following statement:
“We understand the ongoing concerns from residents and recognize the impacts localized flooding and standing water can have on the neighborhood.
Pittsburgh Water has investigated this location multiple times over the years in response to resident concerns.
Most recently, Pittsburgh Water conducted additional sampling and field review in March 2026. Based on those findings, we did not identify an issue involving Pittsburgh Water’s drinking water distribution infrastructure.
The water observed in the area appeared consistent with acid mine drainage rather than a Pittsburgh Water water main or service line issue. We have taken multiple samples over the last year with consistent findings."
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