May 20, 2025 • 30 mins
As a publicly owned and operated water utility, Pittsburgh Water works for you. While our name is changing, we retain our responsibility of stewardship over Pittsburgh's critical water services, and our commitment to strategic reinvestment of ratepayer dollars into our water system. From our ongoing achievements in bringing lead levels to historic lows, to an increased focus on water accessibility and assistance programs for vulnerable customers, Pittsburgh Water is reaffirming our mission to protect public health and the environment. We've made tremendous progress in the past few years, and we have our sights set on an ambitious future.
We're moving forward with a clear vision to transform Pittsburgh’s water system, with a modernized infrastructure that's poised to deliver more secure and reliable water services for decades to come.
So tap in, and pour yourself a refreshing glass of Pittsburgh Water. https://www.pgh2o.com/
We're moving forward with a clear vision to transform Pittsburgh’s water system, with a modernized infrastructure that's poised to deliver more secure and reliable water services for decades to come.
So tap in, and pour yourself a refreshing glass of Pittsburgh Water. https://www.pgh2o.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
And welcome in. This is a public affairs program shedding
the light on the interest and the issues and concerns
of the greater Pittsburgh area. Good morning, My name is
Johnny Hartwell. Today we're going to be talking Pittsburgh Water,
Pennsylvania's largest publicly owned water, sewer and stormwater authority, formerly
known as PWSA or PGH twenty. They serve nearly half
(00:24):
a million residents with an average of sixty five million
gallons of water processed each in every day. And we're
joined today by Pittsburgh Water CEO Will Pickering. Will good
to see again.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
How are I great to be back with you, Johnny?
And doing fantastic all right.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Last time we talked, it was about six months ago.
You guys are still we talked to before we got
on the air. It's never a dull moment with Pittsburgh Water,
is it.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
That's exactly right. I was reflecting. You know, it was winter,
temperatures were dropping, and for us, with old infrastructure buried underground,
we you know, kind of call it main break season.
So our operations crews work twenty four to seven to
repair those mainz and then when the weather breaks in
the spring, we ramp up for a construction season, so
our proactive maintenance and construction. Anyone commuting around Pittsburgh is
(01:13):
feeling that here in the last few months, a lot
of activity. We try to cram into the warm weather months.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
All right. So for people who aren't familiar with Pittsburgh Water,
tell us what the organization really does for Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Sure, So, we have several different ways we serve the region.
First is our drinking water, which we pool from the
Allegheny River and serve about two thirds of the city
of Pittsburgh. We also export some of that treated drinking
water to aspen Wall, Fox Chapel and Reserve Township, so
outside of the borders of the City of Pittsburgh. And
then on the wastewater or sewer side of things, if
(01:46):
you flush a toilet anywhere in the City of Pittsburgh,
it's traveling through our pipes, but that also includes the
drains on the roadways. All of that storm water and
wastewater we are responsible for collecting and handing over to
the county through the wastewater treatment system. And then we
also provide stormwater management services within the City of Pittsburgh
(02:06):
as well, So drinking water sewer and stormwater, so.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Barely anything, not too much on our place much at exactly, Yeah,
so just about everything, and probably people on top of
all that. The infrastructure of everything you just talked about
is your responsibility as well.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
That's right. The network of about one thousand feet on
both the water and sewer side of pipes that are
either bringing drinking water to all of the buildings within
the city of Pittsburgh or again taking away that used
water on the sewer side. Just an amazing network that
works really well. But it is also on average over
(02:44):
eighty years old. So we're catching up on the useful
life is what we like to call, you know, we're
reaching that peak of useful life, and so we're really
trying to get ahead of that and replacing some of
this old infrastructure buried underground.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Six months ago when we talked. One thing that is
a very or of pride is how well how pure
our water is here in Pittsburgh. Can you tell us
a little more about that.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
That's right. As I mentioned, we pool what we call
our source water from the Allegheny River. It's a really
fantastic source of water as our baseline, but that water
goes through an extensive treatment process. We have a water
treatment plant that's located across the street from the Waterworks
Mall near aspenwall Borough, and that treatment process removes the
(03:28):
sediment from the river disinfects. But then we also perform
ongoing monitoring and testing thousands of tests each year to
make sure that we're meeting all of the EPA and
state standards and go beyond that. So we're really proud
of the quality of our drinking water. Has always been
a really strength of our region. To have these waterways,
our rivers and the Alleghany Rivers is just a great
(03:49):
source for our drinking water.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah, I got to tell you, in the last six months,
I've saved a ton because I used to buy nothing
but bottled water. But knowing how pure our water is
here in the city of Pittsburgh, it felt comforting to
know how pure and how safe the water is here
in our city.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
That is music to my ears.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Johnny.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
You know, many people spend twenty, if not more dollars
per month buying bottles of water, maybe even a week,
right and oftentimes those single use plastic bottles end up
in our storm drains, which is something they're paying for
through our services to remove. So absolutely, our customers should
have the most trust in our drinking water. And I
(04:28):
mentioned that ongoing testing in order for us to catch
anything that may be out of out of our normal range,
which we rarely find. But we have a great team
who is responsible for monitoring that water quality and we
have very high quality water in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
All right, let's talk about the name change. Why is
now the right time to reintroduce the organization. It's Pittsburgh Water.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Yeah, you know, as you mentioned, we were referred to
as PWSA. We still remain a government authority. A lot
of government utilities use acronyms and it's difficult for people
to understand really what you're getting from that particular agency
or authority. So we felt that Pittsburgh Water really covers
that umbrella of services that I mentioned, water, sewer and
(05:07):
stormwater services. We found that when you approach it that way,
people maybe begin to understand what we're doing, what we're
responsible for, what we're protecting in terms of the environment
in our drinking water. So we're really excited to reintroduce
ourselves as Pittsburgh Water, and we think it better reflects
the progress that we've made in the last five to
ten years, going from a government agency that you could
(05:29):
argue was maybe not well run, certainly not professional, to
what we are today, which is we stack up against
any water utility across the country in the service that
we're providing our customers.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
All right now, that reputation sometimes is a tough thing
to overcome. So have you have what progress have you
made to change that? Sure, one big area is related
to lead and drinking water. We did have a lead
issue in the city of Pittsburgh right around the same
time as Flint, Michigan. Much different set of issues, but
(06:00):
there was a lot of concern in really some healthy
skepticism of whether or not we could step up and
address it, which we have. I'm very proud to report
we've replaced nearly thirteen thousand lead service lines. We believe
we have a few thousand more left to get out
of our system, which we expect to do by the
end of twenty twenty seven. But in the meantime, we're
treating our water in a way that reduces the impact
(06:22):
of any lead service lines that remain in our system.
So we're addressing it through treatment and sort of this
interim phase before we can get all of the lead out,
and we are a national leader in our approach to
replacing lead service lines. We're very comprehensive. We offer more
to the customers than a lot of other cities do.
Some cities require the customers to chip in and pay
(06:42):
for that replacement, and that's a service that we're providing
at no cost, regardless of income across the board. If
any of our homes in our service territory have lead
service lines, do people understand you know the you know
the name change and what you're trying to do and
the transition. Are you seeing progress and this.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Yeah, definitely are And I think our best ambassadors have
been our employees and our team. They've taken this up
really with a lot of pride, and so through their
interactions with our customers day in and day out, I
am hearing quite a few people using the new name
and at least responding well when I gently nudge them
(07:19):
that the PWSA is no longer, which I think is
welcome again because it's sort of an intuitive name. It
makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
It does make sense. But Pittsburgher's where we're reluctant to change,
even though the change absolutely makes a whole lot of sense,
doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Absolutely yeah, As a fan of the directions of where
things used to be in somebody who's only lived here
for ten years or so, the Pittsburgh sense of pride
and history sometimes can be a challenge, right, But we'll
take the artists formally known as PWSA for a little bit.
But we are hoping that, you know, a year from
now or so when we talk next, Pittsburgh Water will
(07:56):
be you know, generally accepted across the board.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Now, you mentioned a little bit about some of the
legacy issues such as lead pipes and under investment in infrastructure.
Can you talk a little bit more and you know
how big of an effort it is to overcome some
of those legacy issues.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Absolutely so. A lot of what we continue to operate
within the system right now, especially on the drinking water side,
is about a century old. There are components of our
drinking water treatment plant that are actually about one hundred
and twenty years old that really play a critical role
in disinfection. And that one final step within our treatment
(08:34):
process is when water travels through what's called a clear well,
and that is essentially a buried tank. It is a
for us an unreinforced concrete structure buried underground that is
one hundred and twenty plus years old. We need to
replace that and put in a newer piece of infrastructure.
So what we're doing now and actually construction is beginning
(08:55):
this summer, is building components around that project in order
for us to take it offline and replace it. All
in those efforts to renew that hundred plus year old
elements of the system is going to cost us around
five hundred million dollars, so half a billion dollars of investment,
and that's you know, not to mention as you as
(09:15):
you referred to the LED service line replacement program, hundreds
of millions of dollars invested there. And we are also
upgrading our sewers, so you know, we have a lot
of ketchup to do, but we have the team in
place to make sure that we're delivering these projects on time,
on budget into the benefit of our rate payers as
fast as we can, because we know some of these
(09:36):
upgrades are way overdue.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Tell us a little bit about quality testing and things
like that. Are you know, because you're doing all these
infrastructure projects, does it have an effect on the quality
of the water.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
It should not and then that definitely is one of
the challenges of a project like this is because we're
not building elements from scratch at a new site. We
have to maintain our drinking water process while also delivering
these construction projects, you know, on the same footprint. So
there should be absolutely no interruption and delivery of services
(10:09):
or the quality of the drinking water coming out of
the treatment plant throughout these construction projects. And that requires
our team of We have a team of chemists, we
have managers and team members responsible for the production of water,
and we even have monitors out in our system that
remotely and electronically keep an eye on what we call
water quality parameters to make sure everything is in line
(10:31):
with the standards that we have to uphold. So there
should be no impact on customers while we're delivering these projects.
There's gonna be a ton of activity at our water
treatment plant and some of our other sites. But you know, thankfully, again,
we have a great team responsible for delivering these improvements.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
All right, tell us a little bit about the team.
How big of an organization is Pittsburgh Water.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
We stand now at a little over four hundred employees,
about two thirds of those employees are what we call
out in the field. They are are plumbers. They are
our laborers and heavy equipment operators and the like who
are repairing those water mains. They're responding to service calls
twenty four to seven. You know, in the dead of
(11:13):
winter when there's a water main break, they're in there,
they're excavating and making those repairs, and then in the
summer months continuing in the heat, so they're out there
all of the time. We have individuals located the water
treatment plant I mentioned water production. That is their responsibility.
Then we have on the wastewater and sewer side crews
that they operate what we call vactor trucks, so essentially
(11:37):
a large vacuum on the back of a truck that
is sucking out debris and things that get into the
sewer to clean our sewers, and then they stick cameras
in the sewers to televise them so that we can
get a sense of their condition without having to dig.
So they are operating twenty four to seven. And then
we have another set of team members who are out
there making sure that the water meters that are at
(11:58):
each of the service location that we have the properties
that we serve are reading accurately, and so we replace
those meters on a frequent basis and we utilize plumbers
to do that. That's not to mention the desk jockeys
like myself. You know, we have engineering and finance. We
have a customer service team that has made tremendous progress.
You mentioned sort of the reputation. A lot of what
(12:20):
we've been able to accomplish in terms of our improved
customer service remarks are from that team in customer service
and one of the areas of growth. When I started
at the utility a little less than ten years ago,
we had maybe two hundred employees. It was pretty evident
that we just didn't have the bench to be able
to deliver.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
That's amazing because I'm thinking only four hundred people. I know,
four hundred people. You're the CEO. That's a lot of cats.
To her, that's four hundred individuals you have to keep
track of. But to me, when you're talking about in
infrastructure as large as Pittsburgh Water is, you know, you're
talking about the sewer and the water and maintaining the
four hundred individuals doesn't seem like a whole lot and
(13:00):
it's actually twice as many as you once were working with.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
That's right, that's incredible. Yeah, that was probably the low point.
I think in the nineties the staffing was was much
more robust, but the right at that two hundred mark,
you know, it was difficult for our team to answer
the phones quite honestly, Johnny, and so you know, the
leadership team that is involved now we recognize that's not acceptable.
We've been able to grow out our in house team
(13:23):
and that's also helped us save money because there were
a lot of services we were contracting out that we
can now do with our internal forces rather than than
paying more for a consultant or contractor to do.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
We're talking with Will Pickering Pittsburgh Water, Pennsylvania's largest publicly
owned water sewer and stormwater authority. When did you take
over as CEO.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
I'm almost in my five year mark as CEO, and
prior to that worked on government relations and communications and
I was the deputy prior to taking on the CEO
wor all too.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
That was should have been. That was probably a daunting,
you know, responsibility to take on CEO of you know,
the reputation wasn't always where it is what was your
first what was your first goal? Have you met those
those goals and those markers, those things that you want
to get accomplished.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Yeah, it's a fun question, Johnny. A lot of people
thought I was crazy, maybe you know the last man's standing,
but I really felt that the team, even five years
ago that we had was so excellent and capable of
doing great things for the city of Pittsburgh. Really what
they did not.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
But the responsibility of that team is pretty weighty. You're
talking about the health and welfare of thousands, hundreds of
thousands of individuals.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
It is about half a million people on average per
day were responsible for providing that clean drinking water. And
you know, the importance of our region, even to the
Tri state area can't go unstated. So if there's something
bad going on with our drinking water, we can't meet
our standards. You're absolutely right that responsibility is daunting, but
we are so committed to protecting public health. You know,
(15:00):
Pittsburgh has great pride, and the people on our team
share that pride and knew that we could do better.
One of the issues that we had really was understaffed,
and with that, we were underfunded, so we needed to
get the resources that really were adequate for us to
begin to do the right things and then build upon
those successes, as we've been able to do over the
(15:21):
last five years or so.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
All Right, when you talk about funding, you know that
is a big issue nationally, but also on a statewide
Are you still are you are you getting the funds
that you need to accomplish your goals.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
It's a great question because our responsibility is so essential.
We really can't afford the We don't have the luxury
of deferring projects and maybe waiting for better economic times.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Right.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
So the way that we have approached funding, we have
the rates that we charge our customers, so the dollars
and cents that we get from our bills, and then
we can look to the federal and state governments for
loans or grants to perform that work. In one area
where we have been tremendously successful over the last five
years is getting hundreds of millions of dollars in grants,
(16:08):
especially for the lead service line replacement program, but low
interest loans for that five hundred million dollars set of
construction projects I mentioned earlier. You know, if you think
of it as a home mortgage where right now you're
you know, you're paying six to seven percent. It's the
same for us. If we went out and talked to
a bank and we needed to get a loan or
a municipal bond, it's going to be at the five
or so percentage range. What we're able to get from
(16:30):
the state is about one to two percent loans. So
that interest savings over a thirty year time period on
five hundred million dollars. By leveraging that low interest loan,
we're saving hundreds of millions of dollars over the lifetime
of these projects as we pay them down.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
So not only do you have these projects you have
to main daily quality standards, but you also are building
trust within the community. So it's not just you know,
it's not just one job. You have multiple hats you
have to wear.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
That's the beauty of this job. Some days on Monday morning,
like today, I don't know what I'm walking into because
we touch everyone's life in a different way and there's
always a new opportunity for us to look to improve.
But there is sort of that never ending list of
possibilities that can fill a day in a CEO like myself.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
All Right, so you mentioned big changes. What kind of
projects have been the focus over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
So the Water Reliability Plan are those projects that have
about a half a billion dollar price tag that are
going to address some of those key old pieces of
our water treatment and distribution system. But we're also going
like gangbusters with what we call small diameter water main replacement.
And when we see gangbusters, that means we're replacing about
(17:46):
one percent of our system per year, which is way
more than we've ever done, but it is still if
you think about that cycle, that means that we're only
we're keeping pipes in the ground for one hundred years,
which is not acceptable, so we want to look to
ramp that up. But we're replacing the residential water mains
and if there are lead service lines as parts of
(18:06):
those projects, we're replacing those. We're also investing in our
sewer system, which the sewers, if you think about the
way that they sit, they sit lower beneath the water
mains and they can often go unseen. I mentioned that
we have to put cameras in them as a way
to get a sense of their condition. We're really trying
to catch up on maintenance there because they're older actually
(18:30):
than the water mains, and the problems can go unseen
for decades. That's when you see the sinkholes. That's when
you see some of these really catastrophic things that if
you're not proactive in investing in. So we do what's
called lining those sewers, because they're so deep it doesn't
make sense to cut open a road and cause a
ton of disruption. We can actually thread a liner through
the old pipe and add an additional fifty or so
(18:52):
years to it. So we have construction teams all over
the city looking at critical areas where we know we
have some of our problem spots doing that work, and
so between water and sewer, you know, we're very busy
this time of year. But yeah, those really high dollar
price tag projects are going to be going on near
(19:12):
our water treatment plant and across the river. We're building
a new pump station, actually two pump stations, one in
Highland Park and one off of Washington Boulevard that are
going to help when we talk about reliability, making sure
there's pressure in those mains at any time of the day,
even when there's a power outage like we you know,
still it was probably recent in everyone's memory. We want
(19:34):
to make sure that even a power outage doesn't impact
our ability to move water across the city to be
able to provide, you know, that that reliable service that
everyone expects and deserves.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
You know, Pittsburgh is surrounded by water. We are so
affected by the rivers where that's that's kind of our
We take such pride in our rivers. But that also
presents a lot of tobography challenges for Pittsburgh water. The hills,
the you know, the towns, and the you know, everybody
has it, so there's so many challenges in but the
(20:07):
topography is also a big challenge that you have to
overcome as well.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Absolutely, Johnny. If you think about how heavy water is.
If you have a one gallon jug, hopefully you're not
buying one gallon jugs of water. Maybe we'll use a
gallon of milk as our example. You think about how
heavy that is. We are producing on average, seventy million
gallons of day from our water treatment plant, and that
water needs to get pumped to high points in our
(20:32):
city where it sits in either elevated tanks or our reservoirs,
and then that water needs to move all the way
you know, we're talking about the treatment process beginning in
the Aspen Wall area, and we have to serve all
the way far into the north and south ends of
the city, so it takes a tremendous amount of We
use gravity, which is really helpful, and the people who
(20:53):
designed our system one hundred plus years ago were brilliant
in their use of gravity because that saves on energy.
But there are certain areas where we we have to
have those pump stations that are moving that very heavy
water uphill to those storage tanks. We are do Cane
Light's biggest customer. They love us because it takes a
lot of energy to move that. We're constantly looking for
ways to do that more efficiently. But sometimes that topography
(21:17):
that you mentioned can cause an extreme amount of pressure,
or if you sit at a higher point, you have
pressure issues. So we're constantly trying to manage that push
and pull. Often when I talk to other cities and
you know they have that relatively flat terrain and one
water tank, I get pretty jealous.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Well, in addition to the terrain, you also have to
deal with our weather patterns. We have rain in the well.
We have rain all the time. It seems like, but
you have winter and things like that, that's also a
challenge as well.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
That's absolutely right. I'm glad you mentioned that it's about
two thirds of our city. Is what we call a
combined sewer system, so we have really just one pipe
in these communities and that collects the storm water coming
off of a roof or the roadway, or that wastewater
that's coming from properties and it combines in a single pipe.
And the design about one hundred and twenty years ago. Again,
(22:09):
these are ancient projects that were designed. It was brilliant
at its time because they wanted to move the water
away from the properties and get it to the river. Obviously,
we don't want to send untreated wastewater to our rivers,
so what we are doing now is trying to separate
those flows or at least eliminate and reduce the surging
(22:30):
of those pipes that leads to that wastewater going to
the river untreated. So we have sewer separation projects as
well as projects that try to slow that storm water
where it lands. Green infrastructure is a term that we
use in our industry where we're trying to use natural
environments wetlands and use trees and you can use other
(22:53):
designed elements to slow that water on the street, allowing
the storm to pass, and then slow really sitting into
the sewer system so that you avoid that sewer overflow
into our rivers. So that's something that we are also
working on, especially in areas that see flooding and sewer
backup events in ten storms.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
We're talking with Will Pickering, Pittsburgh Water CEO. Of course,
Pittsburgh Water is Pennsylvania's largest publicly owned water, sewer and
storm water authority. Now, as a publicly owned utility, how
does that shape your priorities and your decisions.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yeah, it's a fantastic point, and I really think the
way that we are structured has the many elements of
being the best of both worlds. So we are not
an investor owned utility. We are an authority of the
City of Pittsburgh. The board of directors is actually appointed
by the mayor and confirmed by city Council. However, our
regulatory standards at the state and federal level are the
(23:49):
same as those investor owned utilities, and we are regulated
by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to have the same
service standards that the investor on utility. These have. So
we're different than most government authorities, and we're also different
than those investor on utilities. And I think what that
allows us to do is to provide excellent service. Our
(24:10):
standards are just as high as everyone else, but our
priorities can be a little different because I'm not motivated
by investors. There's not a hedge fund somewhere telling me
that I need to have a certain ROI. I have
a board of directors that is putting public health first.
They're really concerned with making those responsible investments that haven't
been made in the past. And those are the conversations
(24:32):
that we're having at the board level that I haven't
been in a lot of other investor own environments. But
I know that prioritization. As a publicly owned every dollar
that we get from rates is put back into the system.
It's not paid out to shareholders. That allows us to
really prioritize what matters and what I think our customers
(24:52):
would agree should be the priorities providing public health, providing
excellent service.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Now, clearly your work hasn't gone unnoticed. Usburg Water is
hosting a major water industry event this summer. Can you
tell us a little bit about this, sure.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
The One Water Summit is going to be hosted here
at the Convention Center this July. It's an awesome convening
of not just water utilities, but nonprofit groups and stakeholders
from across the country that are getting together and trying
to collectively solve some of these really vexing challenges. You know,
how do we make these improvements in our older water
(25:26):
systems while thinking about the communities we serve, thinking about affordability,
thinking about when we deliver a project, how we communicate
with our public. And then we also have technical minds
there at the table. It's really a unique way to
get people who are in this industry or impacted by
this industry together and thinking about really unique ways of
solving some of the challenges, especially with maybe not as
(25:49):
much funding available. You know, this conversation the summer, I
think it's going to be really exciting. And they chose
Pittsburgh primarily because we've really led the way and a
lot of these unique problems solve challenges. The lead service
line replacement program and our approach there is probably the
most key.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Well, how do we compare it to other cities, comparable cities?
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Well, I think where we stand now, I think we
are ahead of the game in a lot of ways.
We're replacing more lead service lines than most utilities that
have those issues and those service lines in there, but
also in how we're approaching assistance for our customers and
our billing, so making sure that as our rates have
to increase to pay for these investments, we're not forgetting
(26:29):
about those who may have a hard time paying their bill.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Well, tell us a little bit more about your customer
assistant programs.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
So we have a fantastic suite of programs. We have
a monthly discount program that essentially is an alternate rate
for customers that are two hundred percent of the federal
poverty level or below. We also have one time assistance.
If there's something going on in your household where you
really can't afford to pay that bill, you can talk
to us and get a one time grant, and we
also have payment plans and flexibility. So really my main
(26:58):
call to action is if anyone out there as a
customer and having a hard time, give us a call.
We'll get you in touch with our team that is
really focused on ensuring that you remain in service and
you don't run into compiled debt when it comes to
Pittsburgh water bills.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Now, if somebody wants more information on the assistant programs
or where can they learn more, where can they get
involved and ask questions?
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Sure, so a great resource is PGH two O. That's
the LETTERO dot com. Certainly you can google Siri or
alexa us you'll get our phone number four one two
two five five two four two three. But we're really
you know, like I said, there are a number of
ways of getting ahold of us, but really making that
phone call, talking to a human being, We'll put you
(27:40):
in touch with the right resources.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Now we only have a couple of minutes left. What
is the one or two things that you want people
to really know about Pittsburgh water?
Speaker 2 (27:49):
You know, I mentioned public health, Johnny, and I think
it's really important to frame you know, what we're doing
in that lens because you having clean and safe and
reliable drink water really cannot be overvalued enough. It is
the only utility you ingest you think about making that
(28:10):
formula for your child or you know, however you're using
your drinking water, you're you're always going to need to
rely on that service. And that's something we as a
team take to heart every day and everything that we approach.
We're also, you know, trying to leverage all of the resources,
any resource that could be available to keep our rates
as low as possible, recognizing that we have to make
(28:32):
investments and catch up on decades of really no investment.
So we're we're caught in that hard place. But I
do want our customers to know that we're thinking about
them and every decision we make in the quality of
the services we provide, in the way that we approach
our work.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Again, if somebody wants to learn more, get involved or
ask questions. What's the website again.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
It is pg H two O dot com, or you
could call us at four one two two five five
two four two three.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Will Pickering of Pittsburgh Water. It's been a pleasure. Thank
you so much.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Great to be back with you.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
If you have any comments, concerns, or an idea for
our future program, please email us from this radio station's website.
I'm Johnny Hartwell, thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
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(29:47):
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you by Dollar General, Literacy Foundation and the AD Council
And welcome in. This is a public affairs program shedding
the light on the interest and the issues and concerns
of the greater Pittsburgh area. Good morning, My name is
Johnny Hartwell. Today we're going to be talking Pittsburgh Water,
Pennsylvania's largest publicly owned water, sewer and stormwater authority, formerly
known as PWSA or PGH twenty. They serve nearly half
(00:24):
a million residents with an average of sixty five million
gallons of water processed each in every day. And we're
joined today by Pittsburgh Water CEO Will Pickering. Will good
to see again.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
How are I great to be back with you, Johnny?
And doing fantastic all right.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Last time we talked, it was about six months ago.
You guys are still we talked to before we got
on the air. It's never a dull moment with Pittsburgh Water,
is it.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
That's exactly right. I was reflecting. You know, it was winter,
temperatures were dropping, and for us, with old infrastructure buried underground,
we you know, kind of call it main break season.
So our operations crews work twenty four to seven to
repair those mainz and then when the weather breaks in
the spring, we ramp up for a construction season, so
our proactive maintenance and construction. Anyone commuting around Pittsburgh is
(01:13):
feeling that here in the last few months, a lot
of activity. We try to cram into the warm weather months.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
All right. So for people who aren't familiar with Pittsburgh Water,
tell us what the organization really does for Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Sure, So, we have several different ways we serve the region.
First is our drinking water, which we pool from the
Allegheny River and serve about two thirds of the city
of Pittsburgh. We also export some of that treated drinking
water to aspen Wall, Fox Chapel and Reserve Township, so
outside of the borders of the City of Pittsburgh. And
then on the wastewater or sewer side of things, if
(01:46):
you flush a toilet anywhere in the City of Pittsburgh,
it's traveling through our pipes, but that also includes the
drains on the roadways. All of that storm water and
wastewater we are responsible for collecting and handing over to
the county through the wastewater treatment system. And then we
also provide stormwater management services within the City of Pittsburgh
(02:06):
as well, So drinking water sewer and stormwater, so.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Barely anything, not too much on our place much at exactly, Yeah,
so just about everything, and probably people on top of
all that. The infrastructure of everything you just talked about
is your responsibility as well.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
That's right. The network of about one thousand feet on
both the water and sewer side of pipes that are
either bringing drinking water to all of the buildings within
the city of Pittsburgh or again taking away that used
water on the sewer side. Just an amazing network that
works really well. But it is also on average over
(02:44):
eighty years old. So we're catching up on the useful
life is what we like to call, you know, we're
reaching that peak of useful life, and so we're really
trying to get ahead of that and replacing some of
this old infrastructure buried underground.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Six months ago when we talked. One thing that is
a very or of pride is how well how pure
our water is here in Pittsburgh. Can you tell us
a little more about that.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
That's right. As I mentioned, we pool what we call
our source water from the Allegheny River. It's a really
fantastic source of water as our baseline, but that water
goes through an extensive treatment process. We have a water
treatment plant that's located across the street from the Waterworks
Mall near aspenwall Borough, and that treatment process removes the
(03:28):
sediment from the river disinfects. But then we also perform
ongoing monitoring and testing thousands of tests each year to
make sure that we're meeting all of the EPA and
state standards and go beyond that. So we're really proud
of the quality of our drinking water. Has always been
a really strength of our region. To have these waterways,
our rivers and the Alleghany Rivers is just a great
(03:49):
source for our drinking water.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah, I got to tell you, in the last six months,
I've saved a ton because I used to buy nothing
but bottled water. But knowing how pure our water is
here in the city of Pittsburgh, it felt comforting to
know how pure and how safe the water is here
in our city.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
That is music to my ears.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Johnny.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
You know, many people spend twenty, if not more dollars
per month buying bottles of water, maybe even a week,
right and oftentimes those single use plastic bottles end up
in our storm drains, which is something they're paying for
through our services to remove. So absolutely, our customers should
have the most trust in our drinking water. And I
(04:28):
mentioned that ongoing testing in order for us to catch
anything that may be out of out of our normal range,
which we rarely find. But we have a great team
who is responsible for monitoring that water quality and we
have very high quality water in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
All right, let's talk about the name change. Why is
now the right time to reintroduce the organization. It's Pittsburgh Water.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Yeah, you know, as you mentioned, we were referred to
as PWSA. We still remain a government authority. A lot
of government utilities use acronyms and it's difficult for people
to understand really what you're getting from that particular agency
or authority. So we felt that Pittsburgh Water really covers
that umbrella of services that I mentioned, water, sewer and
(05:07):
stormwater services. We found that when you approach it that way,
people maybe begin to understand what we're doing, what we're
responsible for, what we're protecting in terms of the environment
in our drinking water. So we're really excited to reintroduce
ourselves as Pittsburgh Water, and we think it better reflects
the progress that we've made in the last five to
ten years, going from a government agency that you could
(05:29):
argue was maybe not well run, certainly not professional, to
what we are today, which is we stack up against
any water utility across the country in the service that
we're providing our customers.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
All right now, that reputation sometimes is a tough thing
to overcome. So have you have what progress have you
made to change that? Sure, one big area is related
to lead and drinking water. We did have a lead
issue in the city of Pittsburgh right around the same
time as Flint, Michigan. Much different set of issues, but
(06:00):
there was a lot of concern in really some healthy
skepticism of whether or not we could step up and
address it, which we have. I'm very proud to report
we've replaced nearly thirteen thousand lead service lines. We believe
we have a few thousand more left to get out
of our system, which we expect to do by the
end of twenty twenty seven. But in the meantime, we're
treating our water in a way that reduces the impact
(06:22):
of any lead service lines that remain in our system.
So we're addressing it through treatment and sort of this
interim phase before we can get all of the lead out,
and we are a national leader in our approach to
replacing lead service lines. We're very comprehensive. We offer more
to the customers than a lot of other cities do.
Some cities require the customers to chip in and pay
(06:42):
for that replacement, and that's a service that we're providing
at no cost, regardless of income across the board. If
any of our homes in our service territory have lead
service lines, do people understand you know the you know
the name change and what you're trying to do and
the transition. Are you seeing progress and this.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Yeah, definitely are And I think our best ambassadors have
been our employees and our team. They've taken this up
really with a lot of pride, and so through their
interactions with our customers day in and day out, I
am hearing quite a few people using the new name
and at least responding well when I gently nudge them
(07:19):
that the PWSA is no longer, which I think is
welcome again because it's sort of an intuitive name. It
makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
It does make sense. But Pittsburgher's where we're reluctant to change,
even though the change absolutely makes a whole lot of sense,
doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Absolutely yeah, As a fan of the directions of where
things used to be in somebody who's only lived here
for ten years or so, the Pittsburgh sense of pride
and history sometimes can be a challenge, right, But we'll
take the artists formally known as PWSA for a little bit.
But we are hoping that, you know, a year from
now or so when we talk next, Pittsburgh Water will
(07:56):
be you know, generally accepted across the board.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Now, you mentioned a little bit about some of the
legacy issues such as lead pipes and under investment in infrastructure.
Can you talk a little bit more and you know
how big of an effort it is to overcome some
of those legacy issues.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Absolutely so. A lot of what we continue to operate
within the system right now, especially on the drinking water side,
is about a century old. There are components of our
drinking water treatment plant that are actually about one hundred
and twenty years old that really play a critical role
in disinfection. And that one final step within our treatment
(08:34):
process is when water travels through what's called a clear well,
and that is essentially a buried tank. It is a
for us an unreinforced concrete structure buried underground that is
one hundred and twenty plus years old. We need to
replace that and put in a newer piece of infrastructure.
So what we're doing now and actually construction is beginning
(08:55):
this summer, is building components around that project in order
for us to take it offline and replace it. All
in those efforts to renew that hundred plus year old
elements of the system is going to cost us around
five hundred million dollars, so half a billion dollars of investment,
and that's you know, not to mention as you as
(09:15):
you referred to the LED service line replacement program, hundreds
of millions of dollars invested there. And we are also
upgrading our sewers, so you know, we have a lot
of ketchup to do, but we have the team in
place to make sure that we're delivering these projects on time,
on budget into the benefit of our rate payers as
fast as we can, because we know some of these
(09:36):
upgrades are way overdue.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Tell us a little bit about quality testing and things
like that. Are you know, because you're doing all these
infrastructure projects, does it have an effect on the quality
of the water.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
It should not and then that definitely is one of
the challenges of a project like this is because we're
not building elements from scratch at a new site. We
have to maintain our drinking water process while also delivering
these construction projects, you know, on the same footprint. So
there should be absolutely no interruption and delivery of services
(10:09):
or the quality of the drinking water coming out of
the treatment plant throughout these construction projects. And that requires
our team of We have a team of chemists, we
have managers and team members responsible for the production of water,
and we even have monitors out in our system that
remotely and electronically keep an eye on what we call
water quality parameters to make sure everything is in line
(10:31):
with the standards that we have to uphold. So there
should be no impact on customers while we're delivering these projects.
There's gonna be a ton of activity at our water
treatment plant and some of our other sites. But you know, thankfully, again,
we have a great team responsible for delivering these improvements.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
All right, tell us a little bit about the team.
How big of an organization is Pittsburgh Water.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
We stand now at a little over four hundred employees,
about two thirds of those employees are what we call
out in the field. They are are plumbers. They are
our laborers and heavy equipment operators and the like who
are repairing those water mains. They're responding to service calls
twenty four to seven. You know, in the dead of
(11:13):
winter when there's a water main break, they're in there,
they're excavating and making those repairs, and then in the
summer months continuing in the heat, so they're out there
all of the time. We have individuals located the water
treatment plant I mentioned water production. That is their responsibility.
Then we have on the wastewater and sewer side crews
that they operate what we call vactor trucks, so essentially
(11:37):
a large vacuum on the back of a truck that
is sucking out debris and things that get into the
sewer to clean our sewers, and then they stick cameras
in the sewers to televise them so that we can
get a sense of their condition without having to dig.
So they are operating twenty four to seven. And then
we have another set of team members who are out
there making sure that the water meters that are at
(11:58):
each of the service location that we have the properties
that we serve are reading accurately, and so we replace
those meters on a frequent basis and we utilize plumbers
to do that. That's not to mention the desk jockeys
like myself. You know, we have engineering and finance. We
have a customer service team that has made tremendous progress.
You mentioned sort of the reputation. A lot of what
(12:20):
we've been able to accomplish in terms of our improved
customer service remarks are from that team in customer service
and one of the areas of growth. When I started
at the utility a little less than ten years ago,
we had maybe two hundred employees. It was pretty evident
that we just didn't have the bench to be able
to deliver.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
That's amazing because I'm thinking only four hundred people. I know,
four hundred people. You're the CEO. That's a lot of cats.
To her, that's four hundred individuals you have to keep
track of. But to me, when you're talking about in
infrastructure as large as Pittsburgh Water is, you know, you're
talking about the sewer and the water and maintaining the
four hundred individuals doesn't seem like a whole lot and
(13:00):
it's actually twice as many as you once were working with.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
That's right, that's incredible. Yeah, that was probably the low point.
I think in the nineties the staffing was was much
more robust, but the right at that two hundred mark,
you know, it was difficult for our team to answer
the phones quite honestly, Johnny, and so you know, the
leadership team that is involved now we recognize that's not acceptable.
We've been able to grow out our in house team
(13:23):
and that's also helped us save money because there were
a lot of services we were contracting out that we
can now do with our internal forces rather than than
paying more for a consultant or contractor to do.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
We're talking with Will Pickering Pittsburgh Water, Pennsylvania's largest publicly
owned water sewer and stormwater authority. When did you take
over as CEO.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
I'm almost in my five year mark as CEO, and
prior to that worked on government relations and communications and
I was the deputy prior to taking on the CEO
wor all too.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
That was should have been. That was probably a daunting,
you know, responsibility to take on CEO of you know,
the reputation wasn't always where it is what was your
first what was your first goal? Have you met those
those goals and those markers, those things that you want
to get accomplished.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Yeah, it's a fun question, Johnny. A lot of people
thought I was crazy, maybe you know the last man's standing,
but I really felt that the team, even five years
ago that we had was so excellent and capable of
doing great things for the city of Pittsburgh. Really what
they did not.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
But the responsibility of that team is pretty weighty. You're
talking about the health and welfare of thousands, hundreds of
thousands of individuals.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
It is about half a million people on average per
day were responsible for providing that clean drinking water. And
you know, the importance of our region, even to the
Tri state area can't go unstated. So if there's something
bad going on with our drinking water, we can't meet
our standards. You're absolutely right that responsibility is daunting, but
we are so committed to protecting public health. You know,
(15:00):
Pittsburgh has great pride, and the people on our team
share that pride and knew that we could do better.
One of the issues that we had really was understaffed,
and with that, we were underfunded, so we needed to
get the resources that really were adequate for us to
begin to do the right things and then build upon
those successes, as we've been able to do over the
(15:21):
last five years or so.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
All Right, when you talk about funding, you know that
is a big issue nationally, but also on a statewide
Are you still are you are you getting the funds
that you need to accomplish your goals.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
It's a great question because our responsibility is so essential.
We really can't afford the We don't have the luxury
of deferring projects and maybe waiting for better economic times.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Right.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
So the way that we have approached funding, we have
the rates that we charge our customers, so the dollars
and cents that we get from our bills, and then
we can look to the federal and state governments for
loans or grants to perform that work. In one area
where we have been tremendously successful over the last five
years is getting hundreds of millions of dollars in grants,
(16:08):
especially for the lead service line replacement program, but low
interest loans for that five hundred million dollars set of
construction projects I mentioned earlier. You know, if you think
of it as a home mortgage where right now you're
you know, you're paying six to seven percent. It's the
same for us. If we went out and talked to
a bank and we needed to get a loan or
a municipal bond, it's going to be at the five
or so percentage range. What we're able to get from
(16:30):
the state is about one to two percent loans. So
that interest savings over a thirty year time period on
five hundred million dollars. By leveraging that low interest loan,
we're saving hundreds of millions of dollars over the lifetime
of these projects as we pay them down.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
So not only do you have these projects you have
to main daily quality standards, but you also are building
trust within the community. So it's not just you know,
it's not just one job. You have multiple hats you
have to wear.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
That's the beauty of this job. Some days on Monday morning,
like today, I don't know what I'm walking into because
we touch everyone's life in a different way and there's
always a new opportunity for us to look to improve.
But there is sort of that never ending list of
possibilities that can fill a day in a CEO like myself.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
All Right, so you mentioned big changes. What kind of
projects have been the focus over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
So the Water Reliability Plan are those projects that have
about a half a billion dollar price tag that are
going to address some of those key old pieces of
our water treatment and distribution system. But we're also going
like gangbusters with what we call small diameter water main replacement.
And when we see gangbusters, that means we're replacing about
(17:46):
one percent of our system per year, which is way
more than we've ever done, but it is still if
you think about that cycle, that means that we're only
we're keeping pipes in the ground for one hundred years,
which is not acceptable, so we want to look to
ramp that up. But we're replacing the residential water mains
and if there are lead service lines as parts of
(18:06):
those projects, we're replacing those. We're also investing in our
sewer system, which the sewers, if you think about the
way that they sit, they sit lower beneath the water
mains and they can often go unseen. I mentioned that
we have to put cameras in them as a way
to get a sense of their condition. We're really trying
to catch up on maintenance there because they're older actually
(18:30):
than the water mains, and the problems can go unseen
for decades. That's when you see the sinkholes. That's when
you see some of these really catastrophic things that if
you're not proactive in investing in. So we do what's
called lining those sewers, because they're so deep it doesn't
make sense to cut open a road and cause a
ton of disruption. We can actually thread a liner through
the old pipe and add an additional fifty or so
(18:52):
years to it. So we have construction teams all over
the city looking at critical areas where we know we
have some of our problem spots doing that work, and
so between water and sewer, you know, we're very busy
this time of year. But yeah, those really high dollar
price tag projects are going to be going on near
(19:12):
our water treatment plant and across the river. We're building
a new pump station, actually two pump stations, one in
Highland Park and one off of Washington Boulevard that are
going to help when we talk about reliability, making sure
there's pressure in those mains at any time of the day,
even when there's a power outage like we you know,
still it was probably recent in everyone's memory. We want
(19:34):
to make sure that even a power outage doesn't impact
our ability to move water across the city to be
able to provide, you know, that that reliable service that
everyone expects and deserves.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
You know, Pittsburgh is surrounded by water. We are so
affected by the rivers where that's that's kind of our
We take such pride in our rivers. But that also
presents a lot of tobography challenges for Pittsburgh water. The hills,
the you know, the towns, and the you know, everybody
has it, so there's so many challenges in but the
(20:07):
topography is also a big challenge that you have to
overcome as well.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Absolutely, Johnny. If you think about how heavy water is.
If you have a one gallon jug, hopefully you're not
buying one gallon jugs of water. Maybe we'll use a
gallon of milk as our example. You think about how
heavy that is. We are producing on average, seventy million
gallons of day from our water treatment plant, and that
water needs to get pumped to high points in our
(20:32):
city where it sits in either elevated tanks or our reservoirs,
and then that water needs to move all the way
you know, we're talking about the treatment process beginning in
the Aspen Wall area, and we have to serve all
the way far into the north and south ends of
the city, so it takes a tremendous amount of We
use gravity, which is really helpful, and the people who
(20:53):
designed our system one hundred plus years ago were brilliant
in their use of gravity because that saves on energy.
But there are certain areas where we we have to
have those pump stations that are moving that very heavy
water uphill to those storage tanks. We are do Cane
Light's biggest customer. They love us because it takes a
lot of energy to move that. We're constantly looking for
ways to do that more efficiently. But sometimes that topography
(21:17):
that you mentioned can cause an extreme amount of pressure,
or if you sit at a higher point, you have
pressure issues. So we're constantly trying to manage that push
and pull. Often when I talk to other cities and
you know they have that relatively flat terrain and one
water tank, I get pretty jealous.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Well, in addition to the terrain, you also have to
deal with our weather patterns. We have rain in the well.
We have rain all the time. It seems like, but
you have winter and things like that, that's also a
challenge as well.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
That's absolutely right. I'm glad you mentioned that it's about
two thirds of our city. Is what we call a
combined sewer system, so we have really just one pipe
in these communities and that collects the storm water coming
off of a roof or the roadway, or that wastewater
that's coming from properties and it combines in a single pipe.
And the design about one hundred and twenty years ago. Again,
(22:09):
these are ancient projects that were designed. It was brilliant
at its time because they wanted to move the water
away from the properties and get it to the river. Obviously,
we don't want to send untreated wastewater to our rivers,
so what we are doing now is trying to separate
those flows or at least eliminate and reduce the surging
(22:30):
of those pipes that leads to that wastewater going to
the river untreated. So we have sewer separation projects as
well as projects that try to slow that storm water
where it lands. Green infrastructure is a term that we
use in our industry where we're trying to use natural
environments wetlands and use trees and you can use other
(22:53):
designed elements to slow that water on the street, allowing
the storm to pass, and then slow really sitting into
the sewer system so that you avoid that sewer overflow
into our rivers. So that's something that we are also
working on, especially in areas that see flooding and sewer
backup events in ten storms.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
We're talking with Will Pickering, Pittsburgh Water CEO. Of course,
Pittsburgh Water is Pennsylvania's largest publicly owned water, sewer and
storm water authority. Now, as a publicly owned utility, how
does that shape your priorities and your decisions.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yeah, it's a fantastic point, and I really think the
way that we are structured has the many elements of
being the best of both worlds. So we are not
an investor owned utility. We are an authority of the
City of Pittsburgh. The board of directors is actually appointed
by the mayor and confirmed by city Council. However, our
regulatory standards at the state and federal level are the
(23:49):
same as those investor owned utilities, and we are regulated
by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to have the same
service standards that the investor on utility. These have. So
we're different than most government authorities, and we're also different
than those investor on utilities. And I think what that
allows us to do is to provide excellent service. Our
(24:10):
standards are just as high as everyone else, but our
priorities can be a little different because I'm not motivated
by investors. There's not a hedge fund somewhere telling me
that I need to have a certain ROI. I have
a board of directors that is putting public health first.
They're really concerned with making those responsible investments that haven't
been made in the past. And those are the conversations
(24:32):
that we're having at the board level that I haven't
been in a lot of other investor own environments. But
I know that prioritization. As a publicly owned every dollar
that we get from rates is put back into the system.
It's not paid out to shareholders. That allows us to
really prioritize what matters and what I think our customers
(24:52):
would agree should be the priorities providing public health, providing
excellent service.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Now, clearly your work hasn't gone unnoticed. Usburg Water is
hosting a major water industry event this summer. Can you
tell us a little bit about this, sure.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
The One Water Summit is going to be hosted here
at the Convention Center this July. It's an awesome convening
of not just water utilities, but nonprofit groups and stakeholders
from across the country that are getting together and trying
to collectively solve some of these really vexing challenges. You know,
how do we make these improvements in our older water
(25:26):
systems while thinking about the communities we serve, thinking about affordability,
thinking about when we deliver a project, how we communicate
with our public. And then we also have technical minds
there at the table. It's really a unique way to
get people who are in this industry or impacted by
this industry together and thinking about really unique ways of
solving some of the challenges, especially with maybe not as
(25:49):
much funding available. You know, this conversation the summer, I
think it's going to be really exciting. And they chose
Pittsburgh primarily because we've really led the way and a
lot of these unique problems solve challenges. The lead service
line replacement program and our approach there is probably the
most key.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Well, how do we compare it to other cities, comparable cities?
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Well, I think where we stand now, I think we
are ahead of the game in a lot of ways.
We're replacing more lead service lines than most utilities that
have those issues and those service lines in there, but
also in how we're approaching assistance for our customers and
our billing, so making sure that as our rates have
to increase to pay for these investments, we're not forgetting
(26:29):
about those who may have a hard time paying their bill.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Well, tell us a little bit more about your customer
assistant programs.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
So we have a fantastic suite of programs. We have
a monthly discount program that essentially is an alternate rate
for customers that are two hundred percent of the federal
poverty level or below. We also have one time assistance.
If there's something going on in your household where you
really can't afford to pay that bill, you can talk
to us and get a one time grant, and we
also have payment plans and flexibility. So really my main
(26:58):
call to action is if anyone out there as a
customer and having a hard time, give us a call.
We'll get you in touch with our team that is
really focused on ensuring that you remain in service and
you don't run into compiled debt when it comes to
Pittsburgh water bills.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Now, if somebody wants more information on the assistant programs
or where can they learn more, where can they get
involved and ask questions?
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Sure, so a great resource is PGH two O. That's
the LETTERO dot com. Certainly you can google Siri or
alexa us you'll get our phone number four one two
two five five two four two three. But we're really
you know, like I said, there are a number of
ways of getting ahold of us, but really making that
phone call, talking to a human being, We'll put you
(27:40):
in touch with the right resources.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Now we only have a couple of minutes left. What
is the one or two things that you want people
to really know about Pittsburgh water?
Speaker 2 (27:49):
You know, I mentioned public health, Johnny, and I think
it's really important to frame you know, what we're doing
in that lens because you having clean and safe and
reliable drink water really cannot be overvalued enough. It is
the only utility you ingest you think about making that
(28:10):
formula for your child or you know, however you're using
your drinking water, you're you're always going to need to
rely on that service. And that's something we as a
team take to heart every day and everything that we approach.
We're also, you know, trying to leverage all of the resources,
any resource that could be available to keep our rates
as low as possible, recognizing that we have to make
(28:32):
investments and catch up on decades of really no investment.
So we're we're caught in that hard place. But I
do want our customers to know that we're thinking about
them and every decision we make in the quality of
the services we provide, in the way that we approach
our work.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Again, if somebody wants to learn more, get involved or
ask questions. What's the website again.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
It is pg H two O dot com, or you
could call us at four one two two five five
two four two three.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Will Pickering of Pittsburgh Water. It's been a pleasure. Thank
you so much.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Great to be back with you.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
If you have any comments, concerns, or an idea for
our future program, please email us from this radio station's website.
I'm Johnny Hartwell, thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
My name is Arielle. When I arrived in the US
at nineteen, I struggled to find job opportunities without my
high school diploma. My entire life changed when I took
a chance and got my high school diploma at age
twenty two. Everything I have, my education, my career, my marriage,
I owe to the Adult Literacy Center and my teachers.
(29:47):
They were with me every step of the way, helping
with my English and man making sure I pushed through
all the challenges.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Arielle, your success Pruce that what I'm doing as a
teacher has real meaning. It was an honor helping you
achieve your greatness. Now you're helping others achieve theirs. It
inspires me.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Education was the key that unlock all my opportunities.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
When you graduate, they graduate, find free and supportive adult
education centers near you at Finishourdiploma dot org, brought to
you by Dollar General, Literacy Foundation and the AD Council
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