City Council Calls On Attorney General, Auditor General To Open Probe Into PWSA
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh City Council members are demanding answers after this week's Flush and Boil Water Advisory left thousands of city residents without water for nearly two days.
City Council is calling on the state Attorney General's Office and the Auditor General's Office to use their subpoena powers to get to the bottom of, what City Council views as, "serious management problems" at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.
City Council's first grievance is concerns over the most recent crisis.
They say they don't like the way it was handled. They claim the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority didn't have an emergency plan, and was also slow in telling the city what was going on.
"It was very confusing. I think there were a lot of unanswered questions," said Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith. "So, I think people reacted the way they felt they had to with the unknown."
But problems with the city and the PWSA have been brewing for a long time.
It stems back to the authority's decision to hire outside contractor Veolia. That's when a number of serious problems with the city's water service bubbled to the surface.
"We also had issues with lead in the water. We've had issues with the meters. We've had issues with the billing. Prior to that, we've had an issue with the previous director. There's just been a lot of issues," said Kail-Smith.
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But the flush and boil order appears to have been the last straw.
City officials are now seeking a state probe of a number of issues that may have seriously compromised water service for hundreds of thousands of the city of Pittsburgh.
KDKA made attempts Thursday evening to get reaction from the PWSA, but so far, there's been no response. As you can imagine, they have been swamped the past few days.