Milwaukee Water Works reports progress on lead service-line replacements, warns 2027 federal deadline will be challenging

The Milwaukee Common Council Public Works Committee heard a semiannual update on lead service line replacements on the agenda item filed as a communication from the Department of Public Works and Milwaukee Water Works.

Patrick Pauley, Waterworks superintendent, told the committee the utility is on track to increase replacements in 2025 and is planning a still-larger program for 2026. “Our 2025 budget goal is 3,500 replacements,” Pauley said, and as of mid-September the utility had completed 2,155. He said contractors under contract can perform about 100 replacements per week and that the city is working to sustain that pace through the end of the year.

Michelle Natarajan, water quality manager, described the utility’s post-replacement water testing and results. She said the utility collected 266 water samples at 137 properties during the reporting period. On average each sample bottle measured under 3 parts per billion (ppb); one single result exceeded the current EPA action level of 15 ppb and five results exceeded 10 ppb but were below 15 ppb. Natarajan said most elevated results after work reflect construction debris or aerator fouling and that staff contacts affected residents promptly, asks them to remove aerators, flush and offers retesting.

Why it matters: the EPA’s lead and copper rule improvements (LCR Improvements) finalized a compliance structure that begins November 1, 2027, and starts a 10-year clock for jurisdictions to replace all lead service lines found in inventories. Milwaukee Water Works officials told committee members that meeting that schedule will require sustained federal funding, contractor capacity and high residential cooperation.

Key details presented to the committee included: - 2025 operational goal: 3,500 total full-service-line replacements; 2,155 completed as of mid-September. - 2026 planning goal: 5,000 replacements; contracts already issued for 800 addresses in 2026. - Average all-in cost per replacement (June data): about $8,300 for full replacement; average public-side share about $4,500. - Private-side cost trends: down from over $11,000 early in the program to roughly $8,300, helped by block-by-block efficiencies. - Inventory and outreach: more than 30,000 private-side “material unknown” records remain; meter technicians have visually verified roughly 60,000 properties since 2018 and the utility will send postcards with photo-upload instructions to residents to confirm private-side material. - Testing procedures: the utility asks residents to collect three bottles after six hours stagnation; bottle 1 represents internal plumbing, bottle 2 the service line, bottle 3 the main.

On funding, Pauley said the utility applied for $50 million in federal funds for FY2025 and hopes for principal forgiveness to cover private-side costs for 5,000 replacements in 2026. He said federal allocations to states were delayed as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources complete program-level decisions; the DNR was preparing to issue awards once allocations were announced.

Committee members asked about schedule, contractor capacity and legal constraints. Pauley said Milwaukee’s 2017 mandatory replacement ordinance (which requires replacement once a property is included in the program) gives the city an advantage over jurisdictions that must rely on voluntary owner participation. He also said the utility has added contracting requirements to increase apprentice participation through local pre-apprenticeship programs (WRTP|BIG STEP). He estimated the remaining replacement universe at more than $600 million in costs (non-inflation adjusted) and said the city faces an “incredible challenge” to meet a 10-year timeframe without steady federal funding and additional contracting capacity.

The utility outlined specific outreach and operational programs it is expanding: a prioritized neighborhood program (15 neighborhoods in the current footprint), an owner-request program that had over 900 applicants and will send invitation letters to move those addresses into schedule slots, pilot school and childcare testing for waivers under LCR Improvements, and an EBLL (elevated blood lead level) testing partnership with the City Health Department.

Committee action: Committee members placed the communication on file. Alderman Brower moved to place the file on the record; the motion carried with no objections.

Looking ahead: officials said the next semiannual update will return in February or early March and reiterated that national-level funding allocations and any legal challenges to the LCR Improvements are risks to the replacement timeline.