06/12/2026
G.W. Becker Inc. is proud to play a role in serving hundreds of thousands of Pittsburghers fresh water, AND to see our engineering and products in this recent news story photo. Read the full article below:
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, SUNDAY MAY 31, 2026
"LASTING IMPACT"
By Lindsay Shachnow; Photos by Alexandra Wimley
When the Highland Reservoir Pump Station began operating just before Memorial Day, it marked the opening of Pittsburgh Water’s first new water facility in nearly two decades — and the completion of a project nearly 10 years in the making.
Seven pumps providing millions of gallons of additional water-pumping capacity per day now service roughly two-thirds of Pittsburgh Water customers, reducing the risk of service disruptions and ultimately improving water pressure, said Barry King, director of engineering and construction for Pittsburgh Water.
“We are really looking forward,” King said Wednesday outside the new pump station near North Negley Avenue and Mellon Terrace in Highland Park. “We want the infrastructure we’re building to have that same lasting impact for generations to come.”
Engineers said customers should already notice a difference when water coming from rows of bright blue pipes that line the inside of the otherwise dully colored new station reaches their sinks and showers.
The building has nearly 16,000 square feet of usable space, including a mezzanine level below the ceilings that max out at 40 feet and tower over the pumps at ground level.
Inside the electrical room, loud fans cool down the upgraded equipment, though the sound largely is muted from the outside. Engineers stressed the importance of securing the facility, particularly after Aliquippa’s water authority faced a cyber attack in 2023.
The new pumps, run by computers that serve as the “brains” of the operation, have adjustable speeds, preventing variation in water pressure, said Frank Sidari, chief operations and environmental compliance officer for Pittsburgh Water.
The other new piece is a generator behind the facility that can automatically transfer power to the pumps in the case of a power outage lasting up to two days, Sidari said. Previously, the process had been manual, requiring more time to get the pumps restarted and causing a noticeable change in water pressure. The $42 million project, which began in 2017 in a design phase and concluded with four years of construction, is part of the organization’s Water Reliability Plan, a $500 million investment in large scale water improvement projects to prepare Pittsburgh Water for the next 80 to 100 years.
The pump station project is laying the groundwork for the utility’s biggest proposed project: a complete $67 million restoration of the Clearwell — a century-old water storage facility with a 44-million-gallon basin — where water is treated with chlorine, Pittsburgh Water officials said.
That facility, which is where Allegheny River water undergoes final disinfection, is expected to be replaced by 2032.
“It really boils down to that Clearwell, the ultimate capstone that was the driving force behind all these projects,” King said. “We wanted to be able to ensure that we could replace that on our timetable and not under an emergency.”
The Clearwell is the only one facility of its kind, so the work is being done in phases to allow water to be treated elsewhere while it’s under construction.
The goal, engineers said, is to use the 125-million-gallon capacity Highland 2 reservoir where water flows down to Butler Street in Lawrenceville, feeding into the Greenfield area and up Second Avenue — as an interim Clearwell by 2029.
About 1.47 million square feet of liner sits atop the reservoir to protect the water.
“This pump station will be critical to be able to continue to maintain that drinking water supply while we take our Clearwell offline in the future,” Sidari said.
The new infrastructure also allows for other ways to access the water supply in the event of a system breakdown. For the Highland Reservoir Pump Station, that means having several backup pumps on hand.
Pittsburgh Water spokesman Julianne Pelusi said the creation of the Highland Park facility generated 470 jobs.
The effect on residents
Higher water bills that hit customers in March are in part due to the improvements being made through the multimillion-dollar project, which is also being financed through a mix of low-interest loans from the Federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, Pelusi said.
“We are doing everything that we can as Pittsburgh Water to be securing grants [and] low-interest loans, so that we’re able to make this possible,” she said. “[To] be able to do this ... at as low of a cost as possible to the rate payer.”
The old pump station, constructed in 1959 and taken offline in 2016, is set to be demolished next month, Pelusi said. Before the new station was up and running, water pumping operations were transferred to the temporary pump station located outside the south wall of the original station.
After the old station is taken down, she said the former site of the station at the end of Mellon Terrace will be temporarily restored by July 3. Roughly a half-million people drink the water within Pittsburgh city limits, King said, requiring a lot of planning to make sure the system continues working around-the-clock now — and in the years to come.
“It’s always an assumption that that water is going to be coming out of the tap whenever they need it,” he said. “It really does take generations to ensure that you have a system that can support [it].”
When constructing the new building on the edge of Highland Park, King said, architects also tried to limit the noise to avoid disturbing parkgoers.
Outside the building, only a faint hum can be heard.
“A silent hero,” said Pelusi, referring to the term she uses to describe the new pump station.
“But working so hard.”
