THE PITTSBURGH WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY (PWSA) WORKS FOR YOU, OUR COMMUNITIES. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.

Each day, our hardworking, local team of more than 400 public servants does their part to protect community health and the environment through the delivery of safe and reliable water services.

At PWSA, we’re modeling a clear vision for the future, and we have a plan to get there. At the end of the day, our initiatives to upgrade our infrastructure and modernize our water distribution system will provide you with more secure and reliable water services now and in the future.

"Model” is a great word to kick off this YEAR IN REVIEW report. A variety of recent reports, awards, kudos, and invitations to speak at industry events applaud PWSA for being a model and industry leader for our lead remediation efforts, water quality, and safety.

In KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, we highlight the priority programs we’re leading. From water main and lead service line replacements to sewer rehabilitation and more, the work we’re performing shows our commitment to supporting our region through the delivery of safe and reliable water services.

We include PERFORMANCE METRICS that provide information around our daily operational performance. From the quantity and quality of our customer service calls, to the miles of pipes, catch basins, and hydrants we replace, our PWSA teams are going above and beyond to deliver the water services you expect.

We also summarize our FINANCIAL HEALTH, detailing our current financial standing and projection for the coming years. Additionally, we highlight our success in securing state and federal funding to support our infrastructure investment.

Lastly, we highlight the progress we've made on our WATER RELIABILITY PLAN and share some of the ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS that are transforming Pittsburgh's water system, improving service reliability and performance, and helping to protect public health and our environment.

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Our certified Lab meticulously examines your water and performs over 100,000 tests per year.

STRENGTHENING WATER QUALITY & SAFETY

We’re on our way towards our goal of replacing all lead service lines in our water distribution system by 2026. Last year, we reached a major milestone in this priority area, celebrating the replacement of our 10,000th public lead service line. To date, we've replaced 11,000 public lead service lines and are approaching 8,000 private replacements at no direct cost to customers.

This commitment to “getting the lead out” has brought us national attention, including an invitation to speak at a White House event and lend our expertise to an initiative to help accelerate lead removal in other U.S. communities.

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BUILDING OPERATIONS EFFECIENCY

Paramount to the safe delivery of your drinking water are the heroes in our Operations department. Each day, this group of dedicated men and women perform necessary tasks that are essential for maintaining water quality and service reliability.

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INVESTING IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE

Since 2018, we've invested more than $700 million to renew critical drinking water infrastructure, remove lead service lines, construct new stormwater infrastructure, and rehabilitate century-old sewer mains.

To accelerate critical projects while also reducing the cost to ratepayers, PWSA is committed to the steadfast pursuit of external funding from state and federal sources.

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IMPROVING THE PWSA CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

PWSA is a local leader in providing our customers with a variety of financial assistance options through our slate of Customer Assistance Programs. Led by our PGH2O Cares team – the education and outreach professionals who work directly with our most vulnerable customers – PWSA made great progress in this key area.

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PWSA MAINTAINS A STRONG FINANCIAL OUTLOOK, AIDED IN PART BY OUR STRATEGIC PURSUIT OF STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING

For the fifth consecutive year, capital spending exceeded $100,000,000. To ensure financial flexibility, we continue to boost our reserve funding, which will help us in the long term reduce costs.

Now and into the near future, we'll responsibly be making unprecedented levels of investment in critical water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure. Our ambitious $1.8 billion Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) will, over the next five years, add needed redundancy, improve service reliability, and help us continue to protect water quality and public health. 

Our strategy for capital investment is detailed in our 2024 – 2028 Capital Improvement Plan, which can be found on our Finance webpage.

To accelerate these projects while reducing the cost to ratepayers in 2023, we continued our pursuit of external funding from state and federal sources. 

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We've completed lining and cover work at our covered Highland Reservoir, restoration of two large-diameter water mains in Highland Park, the restoration of two large-diameter water mains, and the construction of a large supply main in Highland Park. Earlier this year, we started constructing the new Highland Reservoir Pump Station – our first new building in 20 years.

Still to come is the major rehabilitation of the Aspinwall Pump Station, the replacement of the Bruecken Pump Station, the construction of a bypass around the existing Clearwell, and the centerpiece of the entire plan: the complete restoration of the Clearwell.

Learn more. 

FOSTERING SUPPLIER DIVERSITY

We're committed to providing meaningful contracting opportunities to a broad range of diverse vendors through our Supplier Diversity Program. These partnerships are a win for all parties, helping us expand our vendor network, supporting our vendors in gaining experience in government contracts, and bolstering our local economy by keeping dollars in our region and communities.

In 2023, we accomplished several goals set forth as part of that program, helping us to attract and establish partnerships with talented small businesses and those owned by veterans, women, minorities, the LGBT community, and the disabled – or what are referred to as MWDBEs.

To build awareness around contracting opportunities, we hosted three Supplier Diversity Program events in 2023. The most well-attended event was our On-Call Engineering Services Outreach Event, which was held in November. In all, more than 80 attendees from almost 60 individual firms – 27 of which were small or diverse businesses – heard directly from our Procurement and Engineering departments on expectations.

Our efforts produced results. In 2023, we did business with 61 MWDBEs, resulting in $37,758,694, or 23% of board-approved contracts, being paid to diverse businesses. Specifically, $13,761,385 was paid to women-owned enterprises, $4,956,113 to minority-owned businesses, and $19,041,196 to veteran-owned businesses.

BUILDING AWARENESS THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 

Engaging with our communities and those we serve is a priority at PWSA. From Board of Directors meetings to neighborhood project updates to special community events and media engagement opportunities, it’s our goal to meaningfully connect with those we serve. Throughout 2023, we hosted or participated in more than 100 community events or meetings to build awareness and educate customers about essential water services, Customer Assistance Programs, and the investments we're making to modernize our water systems.

NOTEWORTHY HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• 6 Stormwater Conversations – community workshops designed to gather feedback around our stormwater strategic planning initiatives and hear firsthand how stormwater impacts residents
• 11 school and library visits, where we introduced young learners to the basic science of water quality, testing, and treatment
• Attendance at five of Mayor Ed Gainey’s City in the Streets events, which brought together local government and the residents we serve
• PGH2O Cares presence at a variety of city farmer’s markets and other events to raise awareness and bolster enrollment in our Customer Assistance Programs

Our media partners were also instrumental in helping us tell our story. We hosted several media events in 2023 to highlight project milestones and share our key accomplishments broadly with the communities we serve.

Early in the year, we celebrated the replacement of our 10,000th lead service line with local officials, community leaders, and members of the community in Hazelwood. In the summer, we were joined by U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Radhika Fox, to celebrate a $52.4 million loan PWSA received from the federal government agency for Water Reliability Plan projects.

These events generated news coverage throughout our local market and led to more awareness about the investment we're making to improve water service for current and future generations of customers.

PEOPLE NEWS: HIRING, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, BENEFITS, AND MORE

Our most valuable asset is our people. The extent to which our employees feel supported, engaged, and fulfilled at work has a direct impact on our ability to execute our goals and drive our mission. We strive to create a workplace culture that supports our employees in their professional development, fosters and preserves a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and reflects and provides opportunities to the communities we serve.

Last year, we welcomed 62 new employees and promoted 49 internal employees, indicative of our commitment to help our employees grow. Compared to last year, 2023 saw a 32% decrease in our annual average vacancy rate and a 28% reduction in our annual average turnover rate. We also attended 13 recruitment events to help build out our talent pipeline for the upcoming years.

In support of our DEI efforts and the development of our current employees, we continued to expand our Workforce Development initiatives. Last year, we successfully concluded the first cohort of our job shadowing initiative in collaboration with workforce development non-profit Landforce. We also conducted the first Explore & Tour a Career in Water program with students from Pittsburgh Public School’s Office of Career and Technical Education at our Water Treatment Plant.

Because employee retention is critical to driving our mission, our HR team also made a variety of enhancements to our benefits programs, all of which are sure to keep our employees engaged with the critical work of providing our region with safe, high- quality water services.

From bringing stormwater projects to life to advocating for the removal of lead lines, US Water Alliance Outstanding Public Official awardee Erika Strassburger (second from right) is a champion for water equity and public health in Pittsburgh.

WE'RE PROUD OTHERES ARE RECOGNIZING OUR PROGRESS.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

• 2023 AQUARIUS Recognition Program: Excellence in Public Health Protection, Lead Service Line Replacement Program

American Society of Civil Engineers Pittsburgh Section (ASCE)

• 2023 Award of Merit -- Highland II Reservoir Liner and Cover Replacement project

Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA)

• Inaugural Environmental Justice & Equity Utility Management Award -- PWSA's Community Lead Response Program

American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania (ACEC/PA)

• Diamond Awards for Engineering Excellence -- Client of Distinction Award (nominated by GPD Group) AND Waste & Stormwater Project Award for PWSA's Large-Diameter Sewer Rehabilitation Project

US Water Alliance

• US Water Prize for Outstanding Public Official -- Erika Strassburger, PWSA Board Member & Pittsburgh City Councilperson

March of Dimes Pittsburgh

• 2023 Industry Leader of the Year -- Will Pickering, Chief Executive Officer, PWSA

Water Environment Federation 

• Utility of the Future Today