Rainwater carries anything on the street — from leaves, pet waste and motor oil, to deicing salt, fertilizer or other pollutants — into local streams and rivers.
Pickering faced similar challenges to what PWSA faces now: a history of lead in the water, a backlog of big capital projects, rising rates that would hit low-income communities hard, and sometimes difficult relations with other departments.
PWSA reported its compliance testing for lead came in a 5.1 parts per billion, well under the EPA action level of 15 ppb. It's the cleanest water since 1998.
No amount of lead is safe for human consumption. With elevated lead levels detected in water across Pittsburgh, what can the average resident do to stay safe?
Faced with an invisible crisis and an invisible neurotoxin, city residents are beginning grassroots efforts to inform and educate their neighbors about the dangers of lead in Pittsburgh water.
“We're approaching this problem to improve the quality of our rivers, but also to improve the quality of our neighborhoods and the places where people live."