Cranberry Resident Says 150 Of His Neighbors Are Experiencing Pinhole Leaks In Copper Pipes

CRANBERRY, Pa. (KDKA) - It's a problem unique to copper pipes, but not limited to just one neighborhood. Now a Cranberry homeowner wants to find out: who else is calling the plumber?

KDKA's Meghan Schiller introduced us to the man compiling a database of hundreds of his neighbors' name, all dealing with pinhole leaks in their pipes.

"I've had three, my wife and I, and there's people in the teens," said Tim Casey.

Casey's copper pipes keep springing pinhole leaks, but he's not special.

"In three neighborhoods it's over 150 homes!" he said.

KDKA's Meghan Schiller asked: "is that a systemic problem?"

"That's the definition of a systemic problem I would think," said Casey.

He thinks it's so widespread, he's compiling a database.

"What my goal of this was is to understand what's causing it, understand how many people have it and then maybe work together to develop some kind of common solution. It's not just Tim Casey and his problem. It's big," he said.

From Casey's dining room leaks: "This was all wet. All through here. And this is electric right here."

To Richard Collins' cellar: "The first pinhole leak happened occurred about here," said Collins. "This was wet. There was a puddle here and I said, 'where's the water coming from?'"

The leaks ripped down Collins' garage ceiling.

"A whole new ceiling. Two men worked for a whole day. Cost $1,500," he said.

KDKA Meghan's Schiller called three plumbers in Butler County and they all said they're fixing several pinhole leaks a day in the Cranberry area. KDKA's Meghan Schiller also called Cranberry Township officials. They declined to do an interview but said they strongly believe this is a wear and tear issue. They also believe it's not uncommon for a leak to happen in any home in any region of the country.

"The idea of pinhole leak to the public may be a trivial thing -- 'why is he bothering us with it?' Let it happen to you," said Collins.

Casey believes this problem is so widespread that he created an email address. He wants to hear from homeowners experiencing this problem. Email your name, address and contact information to pinholeleak@gmail.com.