New Kensington water authority among those statewide getting money to replace lead pipes

The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority has awarded a $1.7 million grant to the New Kensington water authority to replace lead lines in the city and Arnold.

The award is among $117 million in funding — grants and low-interest loans — for water projects recently announced by Gov. Tom Wolf. Many of the projects replace lead lines that can impact drinking water quality.

The grant for the Municipal Authority of the City of New Kensington will replace 326 lead service lines. The project will help reduce leaks in the system and lessen the possibility of lead-contaminated water reaching residents.

“The grant will help keep our overall costs down, and the most important thing is it will get the lead out of our system,” said James Matta, authority manager.

The authority has never exceeded the federal drinking water limit for lead set at 15 parts per billion, Matta added.

The authority will replace the lateral lead lines that run from the mainline to the curb box in scattered locations in New Kensington and Arnold.

If the authority finds a lead waterline running from the curb box to a resident’s home, the authority will replace it for free as well, he said.

Property owners will be notified of the waterline replacement project by the authority later in the year.

A timetable has not been set for the project.

The authority has assessed its water system and found that the majority of lead lines were in New Kensington and Arnold because of the older homes. Some of those service lines were installed in the early 1900s, Matta said. Lead lines were no longer used for residential customers starting in the 1930s, he said.

Younger municipalities served by the authority such as Lower Burrell, Upper Burrell and Allegheny and Washington townships don’t have lead lines, he added.

Other projects

Other projects in the region receiving state aid for water projects include:

• The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Derry was awarded a nearly $3 million grant to replace about 170 lead service lines, extending from the main waterline to residential property curbs. The project will reduce the possibility of lead-contaminated water, replace old distribution lines and help reduce leaks.

• The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority was awarded an almost $3 million grant and a $35.6 million loan to replace about 25,000 feet of distribution pipe and 592 lead service lines. The project will reduce water main breaks and eliminate lead exposure to 70,481 residential customers.

• West View Water Authority received a $6.6 million grant to replace 500 lead service lines and associated infrastructure. The project will reduce the possibility of lead-contaminated water and provide customers with better water quality.

• Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority was awarded a $9.3 million grant to replace about 1,000 lead service lines, totaling 40,000 feet of pipe. The project will improve water quality for customers and eliminate the potential for lead contamination.

“Not only do the awards made in our communities strengthen our clean water facilities, but they also address legacy contaminants like lead and PFAS (chemical contaminants), which should never endanger the welfare of our children and families,” Wolf said.

The grants and loans were provided by a combination of state funds approved by voters, Growing Greener, Marcellus legacy funds, federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency and recycled loan repayments from previous state funding awards.

Calls to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority were not returned on Monday.