4 PWSA Employees Suspended For Incident Causing Water Pressure Problems

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Four Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority employees have been suspended after an incident caused water pressure issues Friday night.

The issue started around 10:30 p.m.

The PWSA says it happened at the Bruecken pump station and caused temporary water pressure loss for customers in some eastern areas of the city, including the East End, Shadyside, Point Breeze and Oakland.

"This [incident] is ... due completely to operator error and failures to communicate the issue," Bernie Lindstrom, executive director of PWSA, said.

"At some point, the water level in the clear well went below the minimum level, at which point [the operator]'s responsible to take action," PWSA director of field operations Christopher Carew explained. "Those actions should at the very least include increasing the amount of filtered water that goes into the clear well. It appears that that's what did not happen. And the management team wasn't aware that there was any problem at the treatment plant until the pump went down."

"I am severely, severely, disappointed in the actions of the team at the water treatment plant," Lindstrom added, "and I am going to take personal action to address the communication errors."

The operator, two supervisors and a manager have been suspended from their duties with pay pending a more thorough investigation.

"Let me be clear in saying that this lack of attention will not be tolerated at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority," Lindstrom said.

The issue was fixed around 1 a.m. and water pressure levels returned to normal early Saturday morning.

According to the PWSA, some customers may still have brown or discolored water Saturday. They advise running cold water for a few minutes until the water is clear. Crews also opened hydrants to clear discolored water from the system.

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