In the first board meeting since a Public Source investigation of transparency, Pittsburgh Water board members on Friday asked agency staff 40 questions, nearly seven times the average asked in its full-board meetings over the previous 24 months.
The board approved its 2026 operating budget two days after announcing a rate case settlement that would increase bills starting as early as March. It also issued a stop work order against a high-volume contractor.
All 18 resolutions passed unanimously.
Early this month Pittsburgh’s Public Source published an investigation of Pittsburgh Water’s transparency, finding that:
- No member of the board has voted against a resolution in at least two years, during which 228 straight resolutions were approved through October, including $870 million in spending
- Around two-thirds of resolutions were approved without any substantive questions at the monthly meetings of the full board.
- Just five of the last 24 full-board meetings saw members of the public make comments.
- Board members engage in substantive discussions at committee meetings or executive sessions, despite the state Sunshine Act’s mandate that deliberations (with a few narrow exceptions) and decisions occur at public meetings.
The board’s consensus streak occurs as Pittsburgh Water pursued a two-year rate increase of around 35%, which would add around $35 per month to the typical residential customer’s bill by 2027.
The agency announced Wednesday that it had negotiated with stakeholder groups and settled on a lesser 2026 rate increase that would raise $25 million in additional revenue to help cover infrastructure improvements. If approved by the state Public Utilities Commission [PUC], the monthly Pittsburgh Water bill for a typical residential customer would increase by $15.
The board approved a $129 million, five-year capital plan and its 2026 operating budget.
Annie Quinn, founder of The Mon Water Project, who lives in Greenfield, told the board during public comment that having the budget available publicly was essential for advocacy and public engagement.
Agency staff said the budget would not be available to view until January. Edward Barca, Pittsburgh Water’s director of finance, said he had been thinking about making the budget process more public for a few years.
The resolution on the operating budget drew six questions from board members. Michael Domach asked about debt service increases and Megan Leitch pressed for details on line items. When Vice Chair Erika Strassburger asked whether the budget could be shared publicly before the PUC approves the rate increase, staff said they would review the options.
The PUC decision is expected in early 2026.
Public concern brings contract action
Brad Ankney, who lives in Marshall-Shadeland, used his public comment time to detail a debris operation run by Independent Enterprises, the agency’s lead line replacement contractor operating in the Woods Run Watershed.
“Triaxles routinely haul gravel in and out,” Ankney said, describing “a dust cloud that disperses into our neighborhood” containing hazardous crystalline silica.
He described loaders and a crane sifting through hazardous excavating debris by “slamming its bucket back and forth to remove large pieces.”
Ankney said sediment from the site runs off into sidewalks, streets and streams. He asked the board to terminate contracts with Independent Enterprises, conduct environmental impact inspections at contaminated sites, require cleanup of damaged properties and include strict environmental compliance requirements in future contracts.
Board Chair Alex Sciulli said the utility had issued a stop work order to Independent Enterprises on the relevant contract. Pittsburgh Water spokesperson Julianne Pelusi confirmed the stop work order Friday. The company has 18 active contracts with the utility worth what staff described as “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Strassburger said the board would “remember this” when the contractor’s future work came up for approval.
The board also asked about:
- When the $129 million capital plan would begin, to which a staff member replied: “Pretty soon.”
- The location of a $124,000 dam repair project, and staff said they weren’t sure and would send a map next month
- A list of assets the agency might transfer to the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, which staff could not immediately provide.
Brian Nuckols is an investigative journalist based in Pittsburgh. His reporting focuses on U.S. politics, local government and technology, with a particular interest in how powerful institutions shape the lives of vulnerable communities. His work has appeared in The Lever, PublicSource, Jacobin and Pirate Wires. He can be reached at brianjnuckols@gmail.com or on X at @briannuckols13.
