Pittsburgh, PA – With cold, snowy weather in the forecast, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) advises customers to take stock of how frigid temperatures may impact your pipes and learn how you can better protect your home from an unexpected water emergency.
“Harsh weather conditions, as are expected through the weekend, may cause pipes to freeze or even break,” said BJ McFaddin, PWSA’s Director of Operations. “When water freezes, it expands inside a pipe and places additional pressure on your plumbing system. Following a few simple tips can protect your pipes and help to prevent emergencies throughout the winter.”
Protect Your Pipes
Insulate pipes, faucets, and water meters in cold areas of your home.
Winter weather and temperatures can be harsh in Pittsburgh, which may result in burst water mains, frozen or broken pipes in your house or building, and other less-than-cheerful water or sewer emergencies. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to prepare and even prevent some of these would-be disasters. Take a few minutes to browse our tips for protecting your pipes for the best solution out there —prevention!
Report a Water or Sewer Emergency
If you do experience an unexpected water outage, it’s always helpful to check our Service Outages page where we have active and upcoming service outages listed with a map of affected locations for your convenience. If you don’t see your location listed, call our 24/7 Emergency Dispatch line at 412-255-2423 and press 1 for all water or sewer emergencies.
Notifying Customers of Service Disruptions
When customers experience a water emergency, PWSA will notify customers by phone with important information about the event. This includes basic information about what occurred, the estimated time for restoration, and steps to take when water service is restored. Now is a good time to check if your contact information is up to date so you won’t miss an important call from us.
If there are extended outages or if they are impacting more people than originally expected, PWSA will post alerts to the homepage of our website and notify customers using our social media channels on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
When there is an active water outage, our crews work around the clock to restore service as quickly as possible. However, harsh winter conditions can make it difficult for our emergency crews to access your street and the weather can make the repairs more challenging. Please be patient as we work to address all emergencies while also maintaining the safety of our employees.
The quickest way to contact us is through our Emergency Dispatch line at 412-255-2423 (Press 1), available 24/7. You can also send your address and a description of your water emergency as a direct message on X or using the Messenger app on Facebook.
For non-emergency issues (such as billing or general questions), you can call our Customer Service at 412-255-2423 (Press 5) during normal business hours, Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, or simply fill out our Report an Issue webform online.
As we soldier on through winter, follow our water and sewer emergency prevention tips, and know that help is always one call away when an urgent water or sewer issue may arise (such as low or no water pressure, a suspected water main break, or a sewage backup).
