PWSA ups income eligibility for free lead water line replacement
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The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority on Monday announced that it is increasing its income eligibility limit for customers to qualify for free replacement of lead water lines.
PWSA customers with lead water lines who earn no more than 300% of federal poverty level each year — $78,600 for a family of four — now qualify for free line replacement.
To apply, residents can call PWSA’s program assistance line at (866) 762-2348. The Dollar Energy Fund, which is administering the program, will verify income eligibility, and PWSA will schedule a time for replacement after confirming the home has a lead water line.
PWSA sewer customers who receive their water through the Pennsylvania American Water Co. are not eligible.
PWSA is paying for the program through a settlement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. In 2017, DEP fined the authority $2.4 million after it failed to report a change in water treatment chemicals to state regulators. DEP and PWSA negotiated a settlement whereby $1.8 million was returned to the city for lead line replacements.
About $1 million remains and PWSA must spend the money before November 2021 as part of the settlement.
DEP approved the higher income eligibility limit so more authority customers would benefit from the program. The previous limit was $61,500 for a family of four.
The program is unrelated to PWSA’s $40 million lead program, in which it will replace a homeowner’s private line for free while replacing lead lines in the street that are owned by the authority.
PWSA has struggled since 2016 to reduce lead levels in water that exceeded a federal threshold of 15 parts per billion. The most recent test results released in January indicated lead levels of 10 ppb from July to December. The authority last year also began adding a lead inhibiting chemical, orthophosphate, to city water and officials have predicted lead levels will continue to decrease over time.