DonateSearch

City unable to pay ~$5m water bill, selling water infrastructure for $1, and requesting $4.5 for overdue maintenance

City Council

Pittsburgh Water bills sink budget.

Council's budget director said the city can't afford its $13 million Pittsburgh Water bill. Until last year, swapped services offset the cost, the authority's chief executive said. This year, the city is being charged the full retail rate for the first time. Next year's preliminary budget sets aside $8.5 million, short of the projected $10 million cost.

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.

City Council

City and Pittsburgh Water iron out sale of treatment plant, pipes.

For $1, Pittsburgh Water is ready to buy the city's water and sewer systems. That option came with the 1995 lease, so council can't block the sale. The deputy mayor said the bill of sale includes a charter amendment restricting any private sale. Council agreed to take up the bill at a legislative session.

Written by Amy Whipple

Pittsburgh Water is ready to buy the city’s water and sewer systems for a buck.

A 30-year lease agreement between the city and Pittsburgh Water included a $1 purchase option, which was available on Sept. 1.

Council cannot prohibit the sale since approval for it came with the 1995 lease.

Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park described the system as a $2 billion asset with even higher stakes. “People get evicted if their water is cut off,” she said, “or lose custody of their kids.”

Several council members expressed concern that Pittsburgh Water will find a loophole in the home rule charter amendment restricting the lease and/or sale to a private company. Pittsburgh Water (formerly the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority) is a public authority.

Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said the bill of sale explicitly includes the home rule charter amendment. Any future private sale would then also be a breach of contract.

The legislation currently before council addresses a “critical gap” in the original lease, which did not specify what infrastructure goes to Pittsburgh Water and what remains city property, according to Pawlak.

The agreement conveys to Pittsburgh Water major facilities, such as the drinking water treatment plant, as well as the majority of underground water pipes and sewage structures.

Council members also expressed concern that the sale does not address management and operations. Veolia Water managed the water authority from 2012-2015 when the chemistry was changed so that lead leached into the water. The city later sued the company for mismanagement.

Will Pickering, Pittsburgh Water’s chief executive officer, said, “There is absolutely no appetite for a management operational contract at the authority.”

Council members agreed to address the bill during a legislative session.

City Council

DPW officials say they need more money for equipment, capital improvements.

Roofs and heating and cooling systems at some recreation facilities, fire stations, and EMS headquarters are in critical or failing condition. On Nov. 19, public works officials told council the repairs need a little over $4.5 million. However, the proposed capital budget includes no money for them. For now, an assistant director said, the department has to wait until something fails.

Written by Amy Whipple

The Department of Public Works (DPW) faces a challenging 2026.

The mayor’s 2026 operating budget, currently under council review, includes $57.4 million for DPW, the $6.3 million increase over 2025 includes money for the NFL Draft in April.

During DPW’s Nov. 19 budget meeting with council, Director Chris Hornstein once again expressed the difficulty of servicing the city without appropriate equipment.

DPW leadership pointed to the department successes of 2025. Assistant director Chip Gaul reported 22 completed projects, including reconstructing Homewood Park, replacing the Medic Four station and overhauling Oliver Bath House.

Hornstein made an example of the bath house’s $8.7 million price tag. “We have such a massive investment required just to make that building safe for public use because of deferred maintenance,” he said. The city has said the facility should reopen this fall, though no date has been announced for reopening. Completion was originally slated for 2024.

Gaul said DPW needs a little over $4.5 million for facility-based deferred maintenance projects. These include replacing roofs and/or HVACs in critical or failing condition on/in several recreation facilities and fire stations as well as EMS headquarters. There is no money in the proposed capital budget for these repairs.

According to Gaul, the department has the contracts and the staffing to move forward if they can get the money. “We’re forced to wait until something fails,” he said.

Council must approve the budgets by the end of the year.