Milwaukee is making it easier, cheaper to replace your lead water pipes. Here's how.

It's getting financially and logistically easier for many Milwaukeeans to replace the lead water pipes leading to smaller residential properties.

Legislation approved by the Milwaukee Common Council and signed by Mayor Cavalier Johnson last week eliminates the costs to those residential property owners when the city launches a project to replace the lead pipes that connect water mains in the street to properties across Milwaukee.

And, for the owners looking to initiate the replacement of their lead water pipes, city officials say there will be fewer hurdles standing in the way.

"This city will look and feel quite different … in the next couple of years," Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, the measure's lead sponsor, said on the council floor ahead of the vote.

How can I get my lead water line replaced for free?

It's only possible if your property meets certain criteria:

• The city initiates the replacement of your lead service line.

• Your property has between one and four residential units.

• Your property meets the requirements of the program by having a leak failure, being a childcare facility or being included in a planned project such as water main replacement, pavement reconstruction or a new prioritization plan.

Historically, property owners have had to pay one-third of the cost to replace the portion of the lead service line between the curb and the home, currently about $1,600. The city has footed the bill for the remaining two-thirds and the full cost of replacement from the water main to the curb.

The legislation eliminates the property owners' payment for the private side.

Milwaukee Water Works Superintendent Patrick Pauly recently told a Common Council committee that of large municipalities that have increased their lead service line replacements into the thousands, none require property owners to pay anything.

Will property owners who already paid for lead service line replacement be reimbursed?

No. This program does not work retroactively, so those who already paid one-third of the cost to have their lead service lines replaced will not be reimbursed.

What steps do property owners need to take to expedite the replacement of their lead service lines when the city replaces the 'public' side?

Property owners should receive an authorization form ahead of a lead service line replacement. That form must be filled out and returned to the city using the contact information on the form.

Under the legislation, property owners will also have less time to return the form. Owners now have 10 business days instead of 30 days.

The timeframe in which the city must provide written notice of a planned replacement also decreases from at least 45 days to at least 10 business days.

How is the City of Milwaukee funding the full private lead service line replacement?

The city applied for and has been awarded $30 million for lead service line replacements from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The city's request was based on its goal of replacing 3,000 lead service lines from mid-2023 through the end of 2024, Pauly said.

That funding will cover the full cost of the public- and private-side replacement.

The funding is likely to continue into the coming years as states that are unable to spend all their funding return it to the federal government for redistribution to states with lead service lines and the ability to spend the dollars, Pauly said.

"There's a lot of urgency to increase the program, spend this money, prove to the federal government and the (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) that we are able to ramp up the program and use the funding so we can continue to get more funding in the future," he told the committee.

More: Replacing all lead lines in Wisconsin could cost as much as $1 billion, not including private wells

How will Milwaukee prioritize where to replace lead water pipes?

Milwaukee Water Works plans to prioritize lead service line replacements based on three factors, each given a different weight in the decision-making:

• 70% weight: Area deprivation index, which ranks neighborhoods by "disadvantaged status," according to the Center for Disparities Research at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

• 25% weight: Incidents of children under 6 years old with elevated levels of lead in their blood.

• 5% weight: The density of lead service lines.

Water Works will seek to focus 60% of the annual lead service line replacements on the city's north side, which has about that percentage of the city's lead service lines and elevated blood lead level cases, in addition to high scores on the area deprivation index, Pauly said.

About 40% of the replacements will take place on the south side, he said.

The department is looking to replace full blocks of lead service lines at once to remove them more efficiently and cost-effectively than in a piecemeal fashion.

What if you want to initiate replacement of your lead water pipe?

Owners of one- to four-unit residential properties who initiate lead water pipe replacements aren't eligible for the city to cover the private-side costs.

However, the legislation does seek to make the process easier.

Until now, Water Works would tell owners who wanted to initiate the replacement to find a contractor, pay that contractor and have the contractor coordinate with the department. The city would pay the public-side cost.

The department has heard it could cost a property owner between $6,000 and $8,000 to hire a contractor to replace a lead service line on a one-off project, Pauly said.

Now, property owners may request to be part of the city's lead service line replacement program and will be accepted if there is capacity.

For those accepted into the program, the project will be conducted by a city-retained contractor and scheduled by Water Works. The private-side cost will be fronted by the city, with the property owner having the option to pay via a property tax assessment spread out over 15 years instead of being paid up-front.

The 15-year timeline is meant "to allow another minor benefit to the folks who are paying 100%," Dimitrijevic said.

Each of the first 100 properties to be admitted into the program would pay no interest for the last eight years of payments.

It’s not currently clear how many properties will be able to take part in this program.

What's the best way to contact Milwaukee Water Works with questions about lead service line replacement?

Call 414-286-6304.

Why is lead a problem?

Lead poisoning can bring lifelong consequences, especially for young children. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported in 2018 that 9.2% of children age 5 or younger in Milwaukee have elevated blood lead levels.

A Journal Sentinel analysis of state Department of Health Services data earlier this year showed that the highest childhood lead exposure rates in Milwaukee were concentrated in census tracts that were predominantly Black, and had older housing stock and a higher rate of building code violations — a proxy for substandard housing where chipping lead paint is a particular danger for children.

These factors were more strongly linked to childhood lead poisoning rates than other variables, like the presence of lead service lines. Although lead pipes are a known cause of childhood lead exposure, they are present in most parts of the city regardless of demographics and income levels.

Milwaukee has about 70,000 lead service lines. The city has replaced about 6,400 lead service lines since it started systematically replacing them in 2017, according to Milwaukee Water Works.

Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee makes replacing lead water pipes easier, cheaper