Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Lead And Copper Rule topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wausau updates lead service-line inventory as meter replacements expose underreporting
Summary
City staff told the Water Works Commission Feb. 3 that about 3,100 city-owned lead service lines remain known on the public side while many private-side materials are still "unknown," and that physical verification is required under the federal/state lead-and-copper rule ahead of 2027 requirements.
Chair called the meeting to order and staff opened the director's report with an update on meter installations and the lead-and-copper rule inventory. Scott said the utility has been replacing and testing meters to improve accuracy and to support compliance work tied to lead service-line inventories.
The most immediate compliance task is identifying materials on the private side of service lines; staff reported roughly 3,100 known lead service lines on the city-owned (street) side but said a large number remain "unknown" on the homeowner side. "We sent 97, 76 notices out," Scott said when describing the outreach effort; the utility is offering appointment-based in-home verification or a CIP-supported option that permits photographic or self-reported documentation when a physical inspection is impractical.
Commissioners pressed staff on accuracy and timing. The Chair noted the utility tests removed meters against a 90.5% accuracy standard and reported that many older meters fall short; "So 35% failed," the Chair said during the discussion about removed meters. Scott and other staff said the replacement program aims to bring meters into compliance and that the new meters being installed have a projected 20-year service life, which should allow a steadier replacement cadence.
Staff described the verification burden created by the updated rule: whereas historically the utility tracked only the public-side (street) portion of service lines, the updated requirements compel tracking of the private-side materials as well. Scott said the utility must physically verify many homeowner-side materials to move entries from "unknown" to a classified material and that this work must be completed to limit additional notices and meet DNR/EPA reporting expectations for 2027.
The utility also reported it initially believed there were about 8,000 service lines needing review; more recent inventory pulls indicated figures as high as 14,100 before verification reduced the count. "As our inventory gets verified, we're finding that there's less out there than what we anticipated," Scott said.
Commissioners asked about resident responsiveness to mailed notices. Staff said response rates have been low: people frequently discard mailed notices, and some homeowners who already had service replaced nonetheless received required notices because the inventory snapshot and replacement timing can diverge. Commissioners asked staff to continue working with CIP to document verifications and to report back on progress and timelines at future meetings.
Next procedural steps: staff will continue outreach, use the CIP photographic/self-reporting process where appropriate, and prioritize physical verification to satisfy DNR/EPA reporting; commissioners asked for follow-up reports as inventory verification progresses.
