Lead Line Replacements Gain Momentum
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June 2018 Lead Line Replacements Gain Momentum IN THIS ISSUE: 1 Lead Service Line As part of its Community Lead “Our recent progress on multiple layers of coordination Replacement Response, the Pittsburgh removing lead lines from between customers and 2 RAW Talk Water and Sewer Authority our system reflects PWSA’s construction crews who 3 PWSA in the (PWSA) and its contractors steadfast commitment to must work in public roads Community have replaced over 1,200 protecting the public’s and inside private property. PWSA in the News residential lead service lines. health. Our leadership team To meet this demand, 5 Engineering and The program has reached is tackling this program with PWSA has established a 6 Construction new levels of productivity, every resource available, 30-person, cross-functional Team PWSA with five contractors and and we are grateful to our team of engineers, 7 over a dozen separate work customers for allowing us into plumbers, customer service 9 Water Wise crews replacing full lead lines their homes to reduce their representatives, and 10 PWSA Connect in neighborhoods across risk of exposure to lead in communications specialists PWSA’s drinking water service water,” said PWSA Executive dedicated to replacing as COMING UP: area. The program has also Director Robert A. Weimar. many full lead service lines as 2018 Board Meeting Dates replaced over 300 privately- Water service lines are made possible. July 27 (no August meeting) owned lead service lines, thus up of two parts – a public side Contractor lead line South Side Planning Forum avoiding potentially harmful that runs from the water main replacement work to-date June 25 partial lead service line to the curb, and a private has taken place in Mount Brashear Center replacements. side running from the curb Washington, Beltzhoover, Perry Hilltop Fineview The current rate of into the home. PWSA has Perry North, Squirrel Hill, and Citizens Council replacement places PWSA on ownership and maintenance the Hill District. Additional June 26 track to meet the Pennsylvania responsibility for the public neighborhoods will be added Fineview Park Department of Environmental side, but replacing only a throughout the year and Wightman Park Public Protection (DEP) mandate portion of a lead line can PWSA’s in-house crews are Meeting to replace 1,341 public lines temporarily raise lead levels performing replacements June 27 by June 30, 2018. The in homes. across the Pittsburgh and Jewish Community Center pace of replacements has Homes identified under Millvale. Work areas can be Maytide Green Public increased due to favorable PWSA’s 2018 found at pgh2o.com/leadmap. Meeting weather conditions, additional replacement program July 12 contractor and in-house can have both portions Fair Haven Church PWSA crews, and extending replaced at no cost working hours to evening and Polish Hill Arts Festival to the customer. July 15 weekends. PWSA dedicated Property owners Lawrenceville 9th Ward $44 million to replacing eligible for a private residential lead service lines Block lead line replacement July 19 in 2018. The Authority must are contacted by replace an additional 1,341 Our Lady of the Angels PWSA and must Parrish lines from July 1 to December provide consent and Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition 30, 2018. access to the home July 17 before contractors Children’s Institute can replace their Mt. Washington Community private lead line. PWSA contractor excavates a lead line in Performing full line Meeting Mount Washington July 19 replacement entails 122 Virginia Avenue RAW TALK RAW TALK By Executive Director Robert A. Weimar We Get Stuff Done (GSD) with P3s Since taking the helm at PWSA, I’ve board to manage and improve our Raftelis has a breadth of experience made it plain that we cannot go at it laboratory operations. The partnership partnering with publicly-owned utilities alone as we renew our organization is structured so that PWSA retains to improve their performance and and the water systems we manage. ownership of the lab, but CWM finances. Raftelis is also assisting We must benefit from the experience manages its operations. PWSA as we establish our performance and expertise external partners can metrics and monitoring, as well as offer the Authority as we develop and Already, the partnership has standing up an office devoted to implement our $1.1 billion, five-year generated improvements like a internal performance improvement and construction and strategic plans. complete overhaul of operating training. Like the other partnerships, our Some call these relationships with procedures, upgraded equipment, engagement with Raftelis is short-term external experts innovative public improved reporting to regulators, and and designed to allow PWSA employees private partnerships (P3s), but in the adoption of new lab management to take the baton when their projects are reality, they’re what we’re already software. Thanks to this P3, PWSA completed. doing at PWSA every day. will soon begin to perform in-house lead and copper testing, which will Earlier this week, PWSA leadership We’re enlisting bright and reduce costs and improve response visited with our counterparts at experienced minds to partner with time for customer-requested analysis. the District of Columbia Water and us across the entire organization. While CWM is managing the Lab, Sewer Authority (DC Water) to learn For Engineering, we’re sourcing they’re training PWSA staff to build our how they evolved into a first-class expertise from over ten national and internal capacity, with the expectation professional utility while maintaining international engineering consulting that lab management functions will be public ownership and control. I was firms. These organizations bring returned to the Authority at the end of pleased, but not surprised, to learn experience from other major water, the contract term. that they leverage many public private sewer, and stormwater utilities which partnerships like those I’ve described helps assure that our projects are above. I left the visit with a sense of taking advantage of the lessons Workplace safety and the safety enthusiasm and affirmation that we’re on learned from other cities. of our field crews is of the utmost the right track. importance. We partner with the safety firm, CMI, to provide ongoing training These are the same firms that to field operations. This ensures that The public should share my confidence design and build complex water they are aware of the latest safety that we have the team and expert treatment facilities for both municipal regulations and procedures. partnerships at PWSA to surpass authorities and privately-owned water the turnaround achieved in the companies across the country. We nation’s capital. As the cover story partner with these firms on a project- Late last year, PWSA became the first on our Community Lead Response basis, so that we avoid hiring full-time municipal authority in Pennsylvania demonstrates, PWSA is Getting Stuff employees to fill temporary needs. to be regulated by the Public Utility Done for the public. I welcome anybody Most importantly, these partners are Commission (PUC). This transition who has ideas for furthering PWSA’s helping to educate and train PWSA to PUC oversight is establishing a progress through partnerships and staff, so that when they leave, our litany of new financial and operational collaborations to contact me and our in-house team is prepared to operate requirements upon PWSA that needed leadership team. and maintain the newly-constructed to be met in an extremely short period facilities. of time. In response, PWSA partnered with the consulting firm Raftelis to help develop our required tariff filing and Another example of a current P3 compliance plan. is with CWM Environmental. Late last year they were brought on CURRENTS | June 2018 2 PWSA IN THE COMMUNITY Putting Water In Its Place A new way to manage stormwater PWSA IN THE Pittsburgh receives nearly COMMUNITY 40- inches of rainfall each year, an amount commonly experienced PWSA engaged with the in tropical regions. That’s a lot of community at the following rain! And we are all familiar with the meetings: challenges it brings. Many Pittsburgh neighborhoods experience basement backups and local flooding. Then Mairdale Avenue Riverview Park Green Stormwater Infrastructure there are the more severe events that The recently completed Centre Project Update lead to road closures, flash floods, and and Herron Green Stormwater – tragically – fatalities. June 4 Infrastructure is the second of four pilot Perry High School Managing stormwater is challenging, projects completed by PWSA. and in 2015, PWSA, the City of stakeholders, government agencies, and Morningside Area Community Pittsburgh, ALCOSAN, and many the community with an overview of the Meeting community and neighborhood groups Green First Plan, as well as information June 6 began considering ways to manage to help understand the effectiveness of Morningside VFW stormwater in a more holistic manner. green stormwater infrastructure solutions. In 2016, the draft Citywide Green First Shadyside Action Coalition Plan was introduced. It identified six The purpose of the outreach and Community Meeting priority sewershed areas to focus education campaign is to provide June 14 the first round of green stormwater a common vocabulary and better Winchester Thurston School infrastructure projects. understanding of how green solutions function and why they are good for Since its inception, PWSA, in Highland Park Community Pittsburgh. collaboration with many of our partner Meeting agencies, has started planning, “We are looking forward to making this an June 21 designing, and constructing green interactive campaign for our customers St. Andrews Church stormwater infrastructure projects and stakeholders by providing them with in the South Hills, the Hill District, multiple ways to learn about stormwater Garfield, Polish Hill, the North Side and and the green solutions we are Woods Run, the South Side, Shadyside, implementing,” Robert A.