Scott Walker announces $4 million to help Milwaukee replace lead pipes
Mary SpicuzzaThe City of Milwaukee is getting another $4 million to help pay for lead pipe replacements, Gov. Scott Walker announced Wednesday.
The additional money will be used to help homeowners, schools and day care centers replace their old lead service lines.
“We are helping the City of Milwaukee provide clean water to kids and families,” Walker said in a statement. “It is critical that we continue to remove lead pipes throughout our state to ensure our communities are healthy.”
The $4 million for the city follows another $2.6 million awarded last year.
The state estimated the money would pay for another 500 lead service line replacements in the city.
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Those replacements, which will involve the privately owned portions of lead laterals stretching from water mains to homes, will be done in conjunction with the city’s annual street reconstruction projects, as well as in areas where the public side of the lateral has already been replaced — or when emergency repairs are needed.
Property owners are typically responsible for paying for privately owned portions of service lines.
The announcement comes as the city is struggling with an ongoing lead crisis and turmoil facing the Milwaukee Health Department.