Michael Baker’s partnership with The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) to inspect water lines for lead was recognized by ACEC Pennsylvania with a 2019 Honor Award.
PWSA owns and maintains water service lines throughout the approximately 25-mile radius of the city of Pittsburgh and the borough of Millvale, serving more than 82,000 customers. Like most older cities with a lack of adequate historical construction records, the challenge becomes accurately inspecting service lines and identifying their composition. Michael Baker leveraged its diverse office and field skillsets, including surveying, GIS, and website hosting, to inspect 15,000 curb boxes over a 12-month period.
This Curb Box Inspection Program is one of the tools used by PWSA to determine the need for additional service line evaluation or as a method to validate other service line data. These inspections occur with very minimal impact to PWSA customers and without the need for costly excavation activities. This effective inspection process is a key component to PWSA’s larger Lead Line Replacement Program, which aims to replace 2,100 lead services lines in 2018.