Allegheny County – October 18, 2023 – Today, State Senator Wayne Fontana announced over $37 million in PENNVEST grants and low-interest loans to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) for water infrastructure upgrades.
“With this investment, residents and businesses of Allegheny County will benefit from improvement to water reliability and safety,” said Senator Fontana. “As I have said before, replacing our area’s aging water infrastructure continues to be a priority of mine. Once again, the commonwealth, through PENNVEST, is “stepping up to the plate” with a substantial financial investment in our communities to ensure access to clean and reliable drinking water.”
The PSWA projects receiving PENNVEST funding are:
- $34,159,707 in loans to replace approximately 22,000 feet of 8- and 12-inch water mains.
- $2,474,472 in grants and $686,353 in loans to replace lead service lines that will affect the 300 residential customers where water mains are being replaced.
In total, PENNVEST announced twenty-five awards totaling over $175 million in grants and loans to water infrastructure projects across the state. Thanks to the work of Sen. Fontana, thousands of dated lead water pipes that connect homes and businesses to water mains have been replaced.
Sen. Fontana’s legislation, passed by the General Assembly in 2017, allows local municipal authorities to access state funding for sewer and waterline repairs. Act 44 of 2017, which included the language from his Senate Bill 656, provides communities more options and flexibility to fund these kinds of water infrastructure projects, while saving local taxpayer dollars.
PENNVEST serves communities and citizens of Pennsylvania by funding sewer, storm water, and drinking water projects. These projects not only contribute to improving Pennsylvania’s environment and the health of its people, but also provide opportunities for economic growth and jobs for Pennsylvania’s workers. More information is available on the PENNVEST website: https://www.pennvest.pa.gov.
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