Copper is in, lead is out: The process of removing Pittsburgh's lead pipes

One of the biggest jobs in pushing for cleaner drinking water in our community is replacing our old lead-based water lines. Pittsburgh's Action News 4 came to South Atlantic Avenue to get an inside look at how lead lines are being replaced with copper. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority lead line replacement program makes your water safer at home.Since these projects began in 2016 and 2017, over $100 million has been invested in the restoration and lead pipe replacement in our local communities.PWSA is currently working with $17 million to dig and swap out lead for copper and patch up.“We handle the service lines, which is the portion of pipe that comes from the water main in the street into the home," said construction project manager Mora McLaughlin.We spoke with McLaughlin about how important this restoration process is for the community.“What we know is that lead is dangerous," she said. "And the only real solution to this is to replace the lines and get rid of the source of lead entirely. So that's what we're doing out here in Friendship today.”Pittsburgh was high up on the list of cities dealing with lead concentration issues in the water back when these projects launched about seven years ago. Lead can be dangerous to all, but especially children and pregnant women, causing health concerns for both.If you are concerned with the lead concentrations in your home, McLaughlin shared how PWSA determines when and where they get to work first.“So we look at things like income," she said. "We look at the concentration of lead lines in the neighborhood. We also look at census tract data for concentrations of children under the age of six and women of a childbearing age because those are the most at-risk populations.”