Allegheny County's long-awaited, $5 million state-of-the-art bioterror lab in Lawrenceville took more than five years to build and is finally finished, but the county can't move in because the waterline to the sophisticated laboratory is too small to support the building's sprinkler system.

The new 10,000-square-foot building was finished in mid-December but couldn't get a city occupancy permit because of the water supply problem caused by a corroded, 4-inch, cast iron water line dating to the 1930s, said Allegheny County Health Department Executive Director Dr. Bruce Dixon.

Dr. Dixon, speaking at the county Board of Health's regular meeting today, said it will take at least three more months to correct the problem.