Pittsburgh Water pauses several flood‑mitigation projects, leaving 4 Mile Run unfinished

Pittsburgh Water officials told City Council members at a post‑agenda briefing April 22 that the authority has paused construction on several stormwater and flood‑mitigation projects, most prominently the long‑running Four Mile Run project, citing funding shortfalls, permitting complications and changes to related projects that eliminated a key reimbursement source.

The announcement came at a briefing convened by Councilmember Charland and attended by Pittsburgh Water leadership, engineering staff and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planning officials. Tony Ego, senior group manager for stormwater for Pittsburgh Water, summed up the agency’s position during the meeting: “It’s really funding. Honestly, it’s really funding.”

Why it matters: Residents in Four Mile Run and several other neighborhoods have called for flood relief for years after severe basement and street flooding events. Council members and Pittsburgh Water staff said the authority is continuing design and modeling work, investigating interim measures and seeking third‑party grants but has not scheduled construction because of the current funding gap.

Pittsburgh Water said its broader capital program remains large and constrained by mandated investments. “We have a total investment over the next five years of almost $1,200,000,000,” Jen Persudi, chief financial officer for Pittsburgh Water, told council members, noting that about $470 million is tied to a court‑ordered water‑reliability plan the authority must complete. That sequencing of mandated work was cited repeatedly as a reason the authority reallocated construction dollars this budget cycle.

What the agency paused and why - Projects on pause: Pittsburgh Water identified four primary stormwater projects placed on hold; Councilmember Charland and staff named the Four Mile Run project, a Stewart/Stewart Avenue area project, Southside Park, and an MLK Field retention‑type project. Officials said Four Mile Run is at roughly 90% design when the pause took effect. - Funding and reimbursement: The authority said part of the reason Four Mile Run lost an anticipated funding boost was the removal of elements that would have reduced combined‑sewer overflow (CSO) volumes. That removal lowered the project’s measured CSO benefit below a $10 million reimbursement threshold previously offered by an outside program partner, leaving the authority without the expected reimbursement. - Permitting and design complexity: Speakers described technical disagreements with state permitting authorities about whether a daylighted stream section should include an impermeable liner so the channel would support continuous flow, and complications tied to existing railroad right‑of‑way at Panther Hollow Lake and the spillway. Those permitting and right‑of‑way issues increased project cost and risk, officials said.

Scope, recent work and next steps Pittsburgh Water provided these program details during the briefing: - Stormwater investments: The authority reported roughly $94 million spent on stormwater projects since 2018. Its 2025 stormwater capital budget is about $29 million and includes projects already under construction such as Braywood and two MS4 compliance sites (Glass Run and Scheu‑terers Creek). The agency said 28 stormwater projects are complete, seven are in planning and two are under construction. - Four Mile Run status: Design for Four Mile Run stood at about 90% when the agency stopped planning to bid construction. Pittsburgh Water officials said some environmental “green infrastructure” elements were removed earlier in the design; the remaining plan focuses on gray storm‑sewer work intended to reduce flooding (the agency described the design standard as addressing roughly a 10‑year storm event). The authority reported approximately $8.7 million spent to date on Four Mile Run design and earlier work, and cited a construction delta in the tens of millions (agency staff referenced a construction estimate in the roughly $30 million range and said total original allocation figures varied over time). - Ongoing technical checks: Staff said they are running updated hydraulic models to test whether recent system changes — including removal or modification of a gate referred to as M29 R4 — may have already reduced flooding in parts of the run. They emphasized recent storms have not been directly comparable to the intense, localized events of 2021 that produced the worst community impacts.

Community concerns and outreach Councilmembers at the briefing repeatedly urged Pittsburgh Water to provide clearer, sooner communication and interim remedies. Councilmember Charland told the meeting he is “concerned about the projects in Southside” and asked staff to return with options before a neighborhood meeting. Residents and council members raised practical interim requests the authority agreed to research, such as targeted channel or catch‑basin cleaning after storms, assessments of backflow or basement protection options and whether limited mitigations could be phased in with partners (for example, coordination with the city Department of Public Works on park work or with PennDOT where roadway projects interact with storm flow).

Federal partnership and grant avenues U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff at the briefing described several federal programs that can assist stormwater and ecosystem work. Corps speakers referenced Section 219 (environmental infrastructure) and Section 206 (ecosystem restoration) authorities and noted some Corps grant/reimbursement programs can cover up to 75% of eligible work if a local sponsor participates. Corps planning staff encouraged Pittsburgh Water and elected officials to submit a letter of intent to explore partnership and potential federal reimbursement models.

What Pittsburgh Water said it will do next Pittsburgh Water officials said they will: - Complete the remaining hydraulic and constructability analyses for Four Mile Run and related system elements; - Evaluate the effect of recent changes (including the M29 R4 modification) via updated modeling before a public neighborhood meeting; - Continue investigations of reported flooding complaints to determine whether problems originate in private laterals or the public system; - Seek third‑party and federal funding and pursue partner‑led projects where feasible; and - Maintain two‑way communications with affected stakeholders about technical findings and schedule for any future public meeting.

No formal votes were taken at the briefing; the session was informational and focused on next steps, analysis and outreach rather than an actionable council motion.

Ending Council members and the authority agreed to continue technical work and to return with clearer modeling results and a plan for community engagement before holding a broader public meeting in Four Mile Run. Army Corps staff said federal programs exist that could help under the right sponsor and scope. Pittsburgh Water staff emphasized the authority’s larger capital constraints — mandated drinking‑water reliability work and court‑ordered requirements — remain a central factor shaping project sequencing and available construction funding.