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Lead Service Line Replacements

Safe Drinking Water Loan Program

Removing lead service lines (LSLs) is one way to minimize the potential for lead to get into your drinking water. The Wisconsin DNR Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater provides information regarding the concerns of lead in drinking water.

Funding options for lead service line replacement

Options for funding the replacement of lead service lines include:

  • Wisconsin DNR Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) provides funding to municipalities for replacing LSLs under the control of the municipality.
  • Wisconsin DNR LSL Replacement Program, which is a subprogram of the SDWLP and is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), provides funding to municipalities for both public and private side LSL replacements and related LSL inventory work.
    • The previous Private LSL Replacement Program, funded by the Water Infrastructure Fund Transfer Act (WIFTA), provided funding to municipalities to assist in their efforts of replacing LSLs under the control of private property owners.
  • Wisconsin Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) - Revolving Loan Fund Program (RLF) provides funding to low-to-moderate income (LMI) households and landlords who rent to LMI households for housing rehabilitation and repairs; eligible activities include plumbing.
  • Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants Program, also known as the Section 504 Home Repair program, provides loans to very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve or modernize their homes or remove health and safety hazards, or provides grants to elderly very-low-income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards such as lead plumbing.
  • Section 66.0627(8)(ag), Wis. Stats., allows a municipality to establish a loan program for property owners to replace private lead service lines and also requires enactment of a mandatory LSL replacement ordinance.
  • Section 196.372, Wis. Stats., authorizes water public utilities to provide financial assistance to the owner of property to which water utility service is provided for the purpose of assisting the owner in replacing customer-side lead service lines if all of the requirements in s. 196.372, Wis. Stats., are satisfied.

PSC APPROVAL FOR CUSTOMER-SIDE LSL REPLACEMENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

While replacement of most utility-owned infrastructure containing lead, including mains, goosenecks, and service lines, generally does not require approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), the provision of financial assistance to help customers replace customer-side LSLs does require PSC approval. See ss. 196.37, 196.372, and 196.20, Wis. Stats.

Information on the PSC’s LSL program and approval process can be found on their LSL Replacement webpage.

LSL PROGRAM UPDATES

Visit our BIL-Funded LSL Replacement Program webpage for the most recent updates.

Year three of the BIL LSL Replacement funding will be incorporated into the regular SDWLP State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025 funding cycle. A similar approach is planned for each of the following years of BIL funding.

Concerns about lead and partial lead service line replacements

National research on lead in drinking water has raised concerns within DNR regarding the potential for increased lead levels when partial lead service line (LSL) replacement occurs. The DNR is advising that municipalities replace LSLs in their entirety – partially replacing LSLs can increase lead levels in homes.

The DNR Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater provides information and resources regarding the concerns of lead in drinking water, including how to test for and reduce lead in your home's drinking water, on their Drinking Water and Lead webpage.

Infographic of building, water meter, water service line, curb stop, water service line, and water main. The private property owner is responsible for the portion of the water service line between the curb stop and the normal connection point inside the building (excluding the water meter inside the property). The municipality is responsible for the portion of the service line from the water main to the curb stop.
In most Wisconsin municipalities, the private property owner is responsible for the portion of the water service line between the curb stop and the normal connection point inside the building (excluding the water meter inside the property). The municipality is responsible for the portion of the service line from the water main to the curb stop. In a few Wisconsin municipalities, the property owner owns the entire service line. View larger image

Lead pipe waste management

What to do with lead pipes after they are removed from service:

The Department recommends lead pipe materials removed from water services be managed through reclamation rather than disposal. A provision in chapter NR 661, Wis. Adm. Code, allows for management of what would otherwise be waste scrap metal to be managed as a solid waste provided the scrap metal is reclaimed.

Municipalities are encouraged to carefully evaluate scrap dealers who might take this waste to ensure the lead pipe materials will be properly recycled. Recycled lead can be put back into use through lead-acid batteries, lead shielding and other valuable uses.

If a municipality chooses to dispose of the lead materials, it will be necessary to characterize the waste to determine whether it exhibits a hazardous characteristic for lead. Lead pipe materials would likely fail a toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) for lead and would then need to be managed as a hazardous waste. Lead pipe materials determined to be nonhazardous could be disposed of in a solid waste landfill.

For more information, visit the DNR Management of Hazardous Waste in Wisconsin webpage.

Waste determinations

For more information on waste determinations, please contact your regional DNR hazardous waste specialist.

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Additional resources

Service Line Inventory Guidance - Revised Lead and Copper Rule

Visit EPA’s Revised Lead and Copper Rule page for information on helping water systems comply with the January 15, 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions requirement to prepare and maintain an inventory of service line materials by October 16, 2024. The following documents can also assist public water systems (municipalities) with reporting private-side lead or galvanized service lines to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which is an eligibility requirement to apply for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for lead service line inventory work and replacements (both public and private):

Funding and Technical Resources for LSL Replacement in Small and Disadvantaged Communities

The EPA developed the Funding and Technical Resources for Lead Service Line Replacement in Small and Disadvantaged Communities guide to help small and disadvantaged communities identify potential federal funding sources for LSL replacement and technical assistance related to LSL replacement.

Wisconsin resource communities for LSL replacements

The document, Resource Communities for Lead Service Line (LSL) Replacements, provides contact information for Wisconsin municipalities with LSL projects. The municipal contacts may answer your LSL questions and provide insights into LSL difficulties, such as ordinances, small community issues, inventory, Environmental Review process, technical issues, effective customer communications, websites, and more.

Toolkit from the Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) Collaborative

The LSLR Collaborative released a new toolkit for utilities, public health officials, and local leaders to tackle lead pipes in their communities. The online toolkit includes a roadmap for getting started; suggested practices to identify and remove lead service lines in a safe, equitable and cost-effective manner; policies that federal and state leaders could adopt to support local efforts; and links to additional resources that may be helpful when developing local programs.

WISCONSIN CDBG - REVOLVING LOAN FUND PROGRAM

The Wisconsin Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) - Revolving Loan Fund Program (RLF) provides funding to low-to-moderate income (LMI) households and landlords who rent to LMI households for housing rehabilitation and repairs; eligible activities include plumbing.

SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING REPAIR LOANS AND GRANTS PROGRAM

The Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants Program, also known as the Section 504 Home Repair program, provides loans to very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve or modernize their homes or remove health and safety hazards, or provides grants to elderly very-low-income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards such as lead plumbing.

NSF

NSF International has received many requests for information on which filters are certified for lead reduction and any limitations in the use of these filters, see Certified Product Listings for Lead Reduction.

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

WISCONSIN DNR BUREAU OF DRINKING WATER & GROUNDWATER

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