MILWAUKEE — Major relief could be coming for Milwaukee residents who need their lead service lines replaced. Currently, the homeowner has to pay about $1,600 to make sure their water is lead-free when the city initiates the replacement process.
Just like most 2-year-olds, Jenny Valle’s daughter loves to play in the sink. It wasn’t until recently that Jenny learned what’s coming out of her parents’ faucet could be poisoning her greatest joy.
“At what point did you and your parents know you had lead pipes?” TMJ4 reporter Ben Jordan asked.
"Honestly, I had no idea until last summer when one of the pipes just burst and I came home from work and there was just water flowing in the street,” Valle said. “I had no idea.”
Valle says another unpleasant surprise was learning the cost they had to cover to get their service lines replaced.
"I had to help my dad with half of the payment because he's a senior citizen so he's not working, he's taking care of my daughter so I just felt the need to be able to support him in getting this done for the house,” she said.
Milwaukee Water Works Superintendent Pat Pauly says the $1,600 price tag is a barrier for some families.
"One of the hurdles to getting service lines replaced since the beginning of our replacement program back in 2017 has been the owner cost,” he said.
It’s why Milwaukee Water Works is leading an effort with alders at city hall to change an ordinance that would eliminate the homeowner cost moving forward.
Pauly says the city would cover the bill up front knowing that it would be reimbursed by federal dollars already sent to the state via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“How do you qualify for this program?” Jordan asked.
"We've used three different factors,” Pauly replied. “One of which is the elevated blood lead levels in children under the age of 6 and the density of lead service lines to create a prioritization index and then we are going to work through that index starting at the most disadvantaged areas based on that scoring system.”
Pauly says the city plans to ramp up lead pipe removal efforts next year with 2,200 planned replacements scheduled. That’s more than double the amount completed each of the past six years.
1,000 projects in 2024 will target disadvantaged areas in Milwaukee where this prioritization map shows lead pipes currently have the worst impact.
While Valle wishes her family could benefit from this program, she’s excited for others who will no longer have to worry about their kids drinking from the faucet.
"It actually gives them more of an incentive to say 'yes, please come', have it taken care of the sooner the better,” she said.
This proposed ordinance change unanimously passed a Common Council committee. It goes before the full council next week for a vote.
Milwaukee Water Works expects it to pass. If that happens, the free replacements would start next summer.
The city of Milwaukee keeps track of which properties have lead service lines. Click here to search the city's online database.
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