Pittsburgh will sell for a nominal fee its water and sewer infrastructure to Pittsburgh Water, the public utility formerly known as the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority, despite reservations from some council members.

The city leased the water and sewer systems — including water mains, sewer grates, service lines and hydrants — to the authority in 1995.

The deal included a provision allowing Pittsburgh Water to purchase the infrastructure at the end of this year for $1.

Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, has voiced the strongest opposition to the transfer. She classified the water authority as quasi-private, arguing the authority is run by officials who are not elected.

“It is less public,” Gross said during a City Council meeting last week. “It is an arm’s length removed from this table.”

The authority’s board is appointed by the mayor. Nominees must be approved by council.

Pittsburghers in May voted to prohibit the city from selling or leasing its water and sewer infrastructure to private entities, but Pittsburgh Water is considered a public utility.

The system includes 1,200 miles of sewer lines, more than 25,000 storm drains and about 965 miles of water lines, according to Pittsburgh Water.

The sale won’t impact the way Pittsburgh Water operates or deals with its customers, CEO Will Pickering said.

“We do not see it as an existential change with respect to our customers and how they interact with us,” he said.

Pickering said Pittsburgh Water has invested $1.5 billion in the city’s water infrastructure under the existing lease.

But Gross dismissed such investments, arguing the infrastructure is worth more. She also criticized Pittsburgh Water for having struggled with outages and billing errors over its 30-year lease.

“It’s really not a great deal for the city,” she said.

Gross and Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, were the only council members to vote against the sale Monday.

Warwick said she had not been convinced there was any benefit to transferring ownership of the city’s water and sewer infrastructure to Pittsburgh Water.

Councilman Khari Mosley, D-Point Breeze, said he shared Gross’ concerns.

Despite that, he voted Monday in favor of the sale.

Mosley said he intends to introduce legislation to put additional guardrails on the utility. He did not specify what that might entail.

Several residents last week voiced concerns about the sale, largely equating it to privatization. They raised concerns there may be less accountability or transparency if the city does not own the water and sewer infrastructure.

“Our water asset must remain public,” said Chavaysha Chaney, water equity director with Upstream Pittsburgh, a water advocacy group.

She called for the utility to create an advisory council to improve accountability and transparency.

Under the terms of the sale, the city would reclaim ownership of the water and sewer infrastructure — and assume Pittsburgh Water’s debts — if the authority were to be dissolved.

That also would be the case under the existing lease, according to Jake Pawlak, director of Pittsburgh’s Office of Management and Budget.

The sale does not impact the areas served by private water lines owned and operated by Pennsylvania American Water.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has 30 days to approve the sale.

“I believe that Pittsburgh Water is a public authority and by having our water infrastructure owned by it, it remains publicly owned and publicly managed,” said Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, who sits on the Pittsburgh Water board.

“I do think that we need to guard against and continue to be very vigilant against the threat of privatization.”

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