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Oshkosh public works warns of large private-side lead service backlog and funding gaps
Summary
The city estimates 7,000–8,000 private-side lead service lines remain and the replacement cost could be $40–50 million; officials said federal and state funding streams have been slow and that a $300+ million proposal in the governor's budget was removed from recent JFC cuts.
Oshkosh public-works officials told state lawmakers on May 19 that the city faces a sizable backlog of private-side lead service lines and an urgent funding need to comply with federal drinking-water requirements.
Public Works Director James Robbie said the city estimates between 7,000 and 8,000 private-service lines still need replacement. "Private side replacements are averaging around $5,400 per replacement," he said, and the city's rough cost estimate for private-side work was "$40 to $50,000,000."
Robbie said the Environmental Protection Agency's rulemaking and related timelines drive the urgency: the city's planning assumes replacement work must be substantially complete by 2037. He also noted that the replacement figure excludes the utility's portion of work on public-side infrastructure, which the utility will address.
Officials said state and federal funding has been available at times but program timing and administrative rules have complicated access. Robbie described a gap earlier this year between loan or grant rounds that left projects in limbo; he credited the Department of Natural Resources with using secondary funds to help during that interval.
Lawmakers at the meeting noted the governor's budget earlier included "over 300,000,000" for lead-lateral replacement and prevention but that the item was among those the Joint Finance Committee removed in a recent round of budget cuts. Officials said they continue to press for funding and for streamlined program rules to enable municipalities to access dollars efficiently.
Robbie also urged lawmakers to consider administrative barriers tied to federal funding, such as prevailing-wage compliance and reporting tools, that can make small federal grant projects administratively costly for local governments.
City leaders asked legislators to consider one-time or targeted funding streams and regulatory adjustments that would let local utilities and homeowners complete replacements without prolonged delays and to reduce the risk that work performed during funding gaps will be subject to new program requirements retroactively.
