On tomorrow's ballot, Pittsburgh voters will be able to vote on three "Special Election Questions." *Question 2 *would change Pittsburgh's home rule charter to prevent water, sewer, and stormwater utilities that serve city residents from being privately owned. *The HPCC supports this initiative.* Under its current lease agreement with the city, Pittsburgh Water (PW) - a *public* utility - will be allowed to buy the city's water and stormwater systems for $1 this fall. Although PW officials have publicly committed not to privatize or sell the infrastructure, if this ballot measure doesn't pass, they would be allowed to do so in the future. The ballot initiative would prevent such a sale. It was passed unanimously by City Council, signed by the mayor, and has support from PW's board. The HPCC supports this initiative because when water systems are owned by the public, their main purpose is to serve the community by making sure water is clean, affordable, and accessible. When private companies take over water systems, their goal is to make a profit, which often leads to higher water bills, less public accountability, and fewer protections for the community. PW has a significant amount of infrastructure in Highland Park, and the City and the HPCC has been able to work with them to ensure that the interests of residents and park users are factored into decisions about installing and maintaining that infrastructure. If that infrastructure was privately owned, our ability to hold them accountable would be diminished. *Therefore, the HPCC supports this initiative to keep Pittsburgh's water public.* *To keep Pittsburgh's water infrastructure public, vote YES on question 2.* For more information on all three ballot initiatives voters will see tomorrow, visit this site. <https://www.lwvpgh.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=554754&module_id=540205> -- Click here to visit our website <https://hpccpgh.org/>