2024 was an exceptional year for us, one where we continued to reach new heights in delivering safe, high-quality drinking water to our communities. From keeping lead levels at historic lows, to making responsible investments in our infrastructure and organization, to placing an increased focus on expanding assistance programs for vulnerable neighbors, all of what we accomplished in 2024 was in service to you: our neighbors and customers.
As a publicly owned and operated water utility, Pittsburgh Water works for you. This was true when you knew us as PWSA, and it remains true today, tomorrow, and beyond. As we enter 2025, we invite the more than 520,000 neighbors and community members we serve to revisit some of Pittsburgh Water’s most notable 2024 achievements in our Year in Review. This annual report shows the progress we’re making to transform Pittsburgh’s water system, improve service reliability, and protect public health and our environment.
Meant to inform and build confidence, the report highlights specific details regarding important 2024 milestones, projects and programs, and the essential services we provide to our region.
For example, at the end of last year, we replaced our 12,000th lead service line. Pittsburgh Water is years ahead of the national average and on track to replace all residential lead service lines by 2027. The drinking water we produce meets, and even outperforms, all regulatory requirements, meaning it's safe and of the highest quality.
Our ambitious Water Reliability Plan (WRP), the series of multi-generational projects designed to modernize our water distribution system and provide customers with more secure and reliable water services, is already well underway. In 2024, we laid the foundation for the new Highland Reservoir Pump Station, one of several projects in the WRP. When completed, this new building – our first in two decades – will reduce the likelihood of service disruptions caused by power outages or water main breaks.
Since 2018, we’ve secured federally-backed supplemental funding amounting to nearly $100 million in grants and more than $750 million in low-interest loans. These funding sources help reduce the financial burden on you, our customers, while allowing us to fund our critical infrastructure improvement projects, like lead service line replacements and the WRP.
As a public utility, every dollar we receive is put back into our water system, meaning we don't have shareholders and don't generate a profit. We work for you, and we take our responsibility to our community seriously.
We're proud to share with our stakeholders, customers, and partners our 2024 Year in Review.
I encourage you to see for yourself how we’re protecting our shared resources and reaching
new heights in the delivery of safe, reliable water services now and for generations.
Sincerely,
William J. Pickering
Chief Executive Officer