Over the past decade, multiple communities throughout the United States have encountered concerns about lead in drinking water. Flint, Michigan is one of the most prominent examples of this issue, and the crisis faced by residents of that community has led many other cities to examine whether their residents may be affected by toxic substances in the water supply. Pittsburgh is one such city, and in 2016, tests showed that the levels of lead in drinking water were above the limits set by state and federal authorities. Residents of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County may need to determine how they may have been affected by exposure to toxic substances and what options they have for addressing the harm they have suffered.
Ongoing Efforts to Address Lead in the Pittsburgh Water Supply
The limit for lead in drinking water that has been set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 15 parts per billion. In 2016, tests showed that the water supply in Pittsburgh was 22 parts per billion, and since then, city and county officials have made efforts to reduce these numbers, including replacing lead water lines with copper pipes. More than half of the city's lead pipes have been replaced, and they are all expected to be replaced by 2026. To address ongoing issues related to lead contamination, the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) has added treatments to the water supply that will coat the interior of lead pipes and help prevent water contamination.
These efforts have made a difference, reducing the levels of lead in the drinking water in Allegheny County to 10 parts per billion in 2019 and five parts per billion in 2022. However, the EPA has noted that there is no safe level of lead in drinking water, and ideally, it should be completely eliminated from the water supply. A two-year analysis of Allegheny County drinking water that was performed by the non-profit group Women for a Healthy Environment in 2021 found that lead had been detected in 80 percent of the water systems in the county.
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