Councilwoman wants fast action on lead, not a years-long wait to find Pittsburgh’s problem pipes
Britta Lee, Regional Content Editor
Isaac Lott, a student at the Environmental Charter School at Frick Park, takes a drink from the school’s water fountain. The school voluntarily tested all of its drinking and cooking water fixtures in October. However, many schools in the Pittsburgh area have not tested, and some officials want to mandate testing at schools and provide water filters. (Photo by Aaron Warnick/PublicSource)
Rather than stand by as the Pittsburgh water authority attempts to track down the lead pipes, area officials are proposing a few measures to stem the problem now. And they’re focusing on schools and households with young children.Pittsburgh Councilwoman Deborah Gross and State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana, D-Allegheny, announced their initiatives at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Gross introduced her effort to start a citywide fund that would provide water filters to local schools, childcare facilities and households with children younger than 6. Children are the most vulnerable to the developmental and neurological problems lead can cause.
