| Pedestrian |
May 1, 2017 11:06 PM |
^^I'm a Pittsburgh fan and I've repeatedly read good things like this about it. However just in the last few days a cloud on the horizon:
Quote:
Pittsburgh Tries to Avoid Becoming the Next Flint
By Kris Maher
April 30, 2017 7:00 a.m. ET
PITTSBURGH—As its soot-filled skies cleared, this city built on the steel industry gained a reputation as one of the nation’s most livable places. But it now has another environmental issue to contend with: It is one of several major American cities with lead levels in drinking water above the federal limit.
A total of seven U.S. water systems, which each serve more than 100,000 people, had lead concentrations above the federal action level of 15 parts per billion in recent months, according to Environmental Protection Agency data. They include Portland, Ore., and Providence, R.I., which both exceeded the limit at least one other time in the past five years . . . .
Pittsburgh, which exceeded the lead limit last July for the first time, is drawing renewed attention to the problems besetting crumbling and heavily indebted water systems nationwide. Pittsburgh’s troubled water authority has nearly $1 billion in debt and has been plagued with allegations of overbilling and water-main breaks. It began testing for lead in the late 1990s.
The city wants to restructure the water authority so it can borrow $1.5 billion to upgrade the water system, and spend an estimated $411 million to replace the city’s lead pipes over the next 10 years. On Monday, the mayor rolled out a $1 million program to provide free water filters to residents, giving priority to families with children under 6 . . . .
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/pittsbu...int-1493550002 |
