Questions About Your Service Line Material Letter

Recently, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority sent updates to all water customers in our service territory whose service line record is "lead," "galvanized iron," or "unknown" material. This is in effort to comply with federal regulations and ensure customers have the best possible information about their service line material.

Since 2016, we have replaced an average of 1,500 lead service lines per year and aim to replace all lead lines in the system by 2027. Beginning in 2019, we also optimized our corrosion control treatment, better protecting those with remaining lead service lines while we work to remove all lead.

Commonly Asked Questions

What is a service line?

A typical PWSA service line

A service line is the piping that connects your household or building plumbing to the water main in the street. Ownership for residential service lines is split between Pittsburgh Water and the property owner. Pittsburgh Water owns the section of the service line from the water main to the curb stop, while the section from the curb stop to inside the structure is owned by the property owner. Commercial service lines are entirely owned by the property owner. 

What does a "lead" result mean?

A lead result means that, based on the data available to us, our records show your service line is made of lead. 

While we use orthophosphate as a corrosion control treatment to keep lead levels at record lows, there is no safe level of lead. We recommend you take precautions like flushing your pipes before consuming water and request a free lead test kit.

When we come to replace your lead line in the coming years, we will perform an inspection in your basement and, if needed, an excavation in the sidewalk to confirm this result. 

What does a "galvanized iron" result mean?

Galvanized iron can absorb lead particulate and release it into your water. For this reason, we treat galvanized iron like lead and remove it when found. 

While we use orthophosphate as a corrosion control treatment to keep lead levels at record lows, there is no safe level of lead. We recommend you take precautions like flushing your pipes before consuming water and request a free lead test kit.

When we come to replace your line in the coming years, we will perform an inspection in your basement and, if needed, an excavation in the sidewalk to confirm this result. 

What does an "unknown" result mean?

An unknown result means that we do not have adequate data at your property to determine the material of the service line. Since some homes in Pittsburgh are 100+ years old, our original records for a home can be outdated, missing, or hard to read. 

A service line of unknown material could be made of lead, so we recommend you take precautions like flushing your pipes before consuming water, requesting a free lead test kit, and inspecting your service line where it enters the basement to see if you can identify a lead pipe. For more information on how to do this, visit our brief survey to identify the material of private service lines.

Over the next few years, we will fully update our inventory and replace any remaining lead service lines in the system, where found. 

What do I need to do?

You are not required to do anything based on the results of this letter. This letter simply aims to keep our customers informed about their service line material. 

Over the next few years, we will work to remove all residential lead lines in our system and investigate locations with an "unknown" result to give you better information about your service line. This will primarily be done through construction projects like our Lead Service Line Replacement Program and water main replacements. If you have a lead line, we will replace it at no cost to you. 

If you want to replace your lead service line prior to a PWSA project entering your neighborhood, please visit www.lead.pgh2o.com/leadreimbursement/ for more information. Depending on your income, you may be eligible to have your lead water service line replaced at no cost.

I don't think my result is correct

If you believe our record is incorrect or out of date, please fill out our brief survey

What can I do to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water?

  • Run your water to flush out lead. If the water hasn’t been used for several hours, run the water for 15-30 seconds to flush lead from interior plumbing or run the water until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using your water for cooking or drinking. Use only cold water for cooking and drinking.
  • Do NOT use water from the hot water tap to make baby formula.
  • Do NOT boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead.
  • Look for alternative sources or treatment of water, such as the use of a pitcher filter that is certified to remove lead.  Replace the cartridges on a routine frequency or use bottled water.
  • Identify and replace plumbing fixtures containing lead. Brass faucets, fittings and valves, including those advertised as “lead free” installed prior to 2014 may contribute lead to drinking water because the law allowed fixtured with up to 8% lead to be labeled as lead free.
  • Regularly clean your aerators/screens on plumbing fixtures. Sediment, debris and lead particles can collect in your aerator. If lead particles are caught in the aerator, lead can get into your water.

Resources

  • See all available data for service line material in our service area as well as areas where we have replaced lead lines at pgh2o.com/leadmap
  • Request a lead test kit to learn more about your water quality at pgh2o.com/leadform.
  • If you think your result may be out of date or incorrect, you can provide updated information at pgh2o.com/service-line-id.

 

Additional Questions?

If you have any additional questions, please fill out the form below and our Lead Help Desk team will reach out to you. 

Information message

*Required Fields
*Your Name
Address
Our Lead Help Desk will get back to you in approximately three business days
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.