Wisconsin Pols Vow To Crack Down On Lead

Wisconsin policymakers say the state must be willing to shell out cash to stave off lead threats for residents.

Top Milwaukee and state officials agree “that Wisconsin must move as quickly as possible to replace all of the estimated 176,000 lead pipes providing drinking water to homes and businesses in the state,” Wisconsin Watch, an investigative news publication, recently reported.

Here’s the backdrop on the state’s lead difficulties, per the report:

A test last year of six Milwaukee homes found levels of lead in the drinking water increased — in some cases astronomically — after the city did partial lead service line replacements during water main repairs. One home, for example, measured up to 328 parts per billion of lead after the replacement, compared to the baseline measurement of 6.5 ppb.

Replacing every pipe would be a big undertaking for any region, but some state officials are resolved. As Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp put it, “If it costs a lot of money to do that, then it costs a lot of money to do that.”

It would, in fact, be an expensive project, according to the report.

“The DNR estimates it could cost between $3,000 and $5,000 for just the homeowner’s portion to replace each lead service line; no statewide estimate was available for how much water utilities could spend. The Milwaukee Water Works has estimated that digging up that city’s 70,000 lead service lines would cost between $511 million and $756 million,” the report said.

Madison, the state capital, is one of the rare cities to tackle led woes by replacing every pipe.

“Madison’s response was like hitting a gnat with a sledgehammer. It was so aggressive that only one other major municipality in the United States has followed its approach so far. It’s also why some people now call Madison the anti-Flint, a place where water problems linked to the toxic substance simply couldn’t happen today,” The Washington Post reported.

Madison officials found high lead levels in the drinking water over a decade ago, according to the Post. The lead level was 16 ppb. The federal limit for lead is 15 ppb, according to the U.S. EPA.