PITTSBURGH — The city agency responsible for running Pittsburgh’s water and sewer system lacks accountability at all levels, according to a performance review.

Problems at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority range from excess turnover among top managers and high-priced outside contractors, to inadequate attention to cleaning and maintaining the system.

The 2009 performance review by Resource Development & Management shows the PWSA is a “failed organization,” Councilman Doug Shields said.

“It’s an indictment of this authority that no one can walk away from,” said Shields, whose district includes part of the area that flooded last month, killing four people, including two children. “What have you done to correct these faults?”

PWSA spokeswoman Melissa Rubin said she was not familiar with the report and was not in a position to comment on it. Rubin said she did not know if either of the authority’s acting executive directors, Tom Palmosina and Stephen Simcic, was aware of the report. Palmosina did not return a call seeking comment.

The two directors have shared authority over day-to-day operations since former director Michael Kenney resigned in December 2010. Kenney hired RDM to examine the authority’s inner workings.