PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Two municipalities in Northeast Wisconsin are getting federal funding to replace lead service lines.
More than $159 million has been allocated to 29 municipalities across the state, including Manitowoc and Oshkosh, to ensure Wisconsinites have access to clean, safe drinking water that is free of lead. The funding will help municipalities replace lead service lines, with a special focus on small and disadvantaged communities.
Passed by the U.S. Congress in 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) included $50 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen and rebuild the nation’s water infrastructure. This historic investment provided $15 billion for lead service line identification and replacement nationwide.
A subprogram of the federal Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, utilizing federal BIL funding, provides funding to municipalities for both public and private lead service line replacements and related lead service line inventory work to protect public health. Since the first version of the Lead Service Line Replacement Program began in state fiscal year 2017, the DNR and the Wisconsin Department of Administration have provided more than $267 million in financial assistance to Wisconsin municipalities for lead service line replacement projects.
According to the DNR, throughout the state, there are more than 132,000 known public side lead service lines, more than 128,000 known private side lead service lines, and more than 208,000 service lines of unknown composition that may contain lead. This funding will help municipalities continue their efforts toward the goal of replacing the remaining lead service lines.
Examples of preliminarily approved projects include:
Milwaukee | Over $50 million
- The city of Milwaukee was allocated over $50 million in Lead Service Line Replacement funding, of which more than $19 million of these funds are lead service line principal forgiveness, with the remainder through a loan with a 0.25 percent interest rate.
Racine | $40 million
- The city of Racine was allocated $40 million in Lead Service Line Replacement funding, of which more than $21 million of these funds are lead service line principal forgiveness, with the remainder through a loan with a 0.25 percent interest rate.
Manitowoc | Over $14 million
- The city of Manitowoc was allocated over $14 million in Lead Service Line Replacement funding, of which nearly $7.3 million of these funds are lead service line principal forgiveness, with the remainder through a loan with a 0.25 percent interest rate.
Oshkosh | Over $6 million
- The city of Oshkosh was allocated over $6 million in Lead Service Line Replacement funding, of which more than $2.7 million of these funds are lead service line principal forgiveness, with the remainder through a loan with a 0.25 percent interest rate.
Chippewa Falls | Over $1.9 million
- The city of Chippewa Falls was allocated over $1.9 million in Lead Service Line Replacement funding, of which $957,750 of these funds are lead service line principal forgiveness, with the remainder through a loan with a 0.25 percent interest rate.
Thorp | Over $733,000
- The city of Thorp was allocated over $733,000 in Lead Service Line Replacement funding, of which more than $366,000 of these funds are lead service line principal forgiveness, with the remainder through a loan with a 0.25 percent interest rate.
Rice Lake | $732,500
- The city of Rice Lake was allocated $732,500 in Lead Service Line Replacement funding, of which nearly $550,000 of these funds are lead service line principal forgiveness, with the remainder through a loan with a 0.25 percent interest rate.
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