Monthly bills of average PWSA customers will increase $13 under approved rate change

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The monthly bills of the average Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority customer will increase by about $13 after a state commission approved a rate change on Thursday. 

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved changes that the PWSA said will generate an additional $36 million in revenue this year. It's $10.8 million less than their original request for 2024. 

With the new rates, the PWSA said the bill for a typical residential customer using 3,000 gallons of water per month and charged the base rate for stormwater would increase by $13.84. The typical residential customer currently pays $86.43, and it's expected to increase to $100.27 when the changes go into effect next month. 

PWSA said the extra revenue will help them improve their infrastructure through projects like lead service line removal. The authority removed its 10,000 lead service line last year and plans to get rid of all of them by 2026. 

"The new rates approved by the Commission balance PWSA's immediate need to protect public health by investing in our aging water infrastructure, and the need to provide assistance for customers with affordability concerns," said PWSA CEO Will Pickering in a news release. 

For typical residents enrolled in the PWSA's low-income customer assistance bill discount program using 3,000 gallons a month, their bill is expected to increase from $44.15 to $49.95. 

As a public owned and managed water, sewer and stormwater authority, the PWSA says every dollar it gets from ratepayers is reinvested back into its infrastructure and it never generates a profit nor pays investors.