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Pittsburgh City Council

Pittsburgh Water bills sink budget.

Written by Amy Whipple

During the dry talk about budgets, city council learned that Pittsburgh is drowning in unpaid water bills.

Council’s Budget Director Pete McDevitt said during the Nov. 12 budget meeting that the city has a $13 million Pittsburgh Water bill. He estimated it has paid about 40%, which includes 2024’s $3.6 million balance.

“We literally can’t afford to pay,” said McDevitt.

The projected cost for 2026 is $10 million. The preliminary budget allots $8.5 million.

Pittsburgh, which controlled the water department until 1984, did not pay for its water usage until five years ago. At that time, it began a graduated billing schedule with Pittsburgh Water. Until last year, reciprocal services neutralized the cost, according to chief executive officer Will Pickering at the Nov. 19 committee meeting. This is the first year charging the city the full retail rate.

Department of Public Works’ Manager of Finance Don Mudrick estimated that the city has 500 Pittsburgh Water accounts, one for every meter with each account receiving its own hard copy bill.

Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park suggested checking the meters. In 2015, about 30,000 residents received grossly inflated bills, some for thousands of dollars. The water authority pinned responsibility on residents until they eventually revealed they had faulty meters.

This is the second time in less than a month that council has learned about utility debt. In October, DPW requested $200,000 to settle a debt with Duquesne Light.

Connections to this story

Topics:
City Budget & Fiscal
Governments:
Pittsburgh City Council
Public meetings:
City Council · November 18, 2025

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