DNR Providing Funds to Replace Lead Pipes

CBS 58—The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is providing funding to 38 municipalities help keep lead out of drinking water.

The DNR awarded a total of $14.5 million, which will be used to replace privately owned lead service lines, which bring water in to your home. About half of the lead service line, from the water main to the curb-, is owned by the city, the rest is the homeowner’s responsibility and that’s the portion the DNR money will replace.

“The reason we needed to do that is because in Wisconsin, utilities are not able to  use utility rates to pay for any work on private property,” said Robin Schmidt, the chief of the environmental loans section at the DNR.

One of the cities getting money to replace privately owned lead service lines is Cudahy. The city will use the $300,000 it received this fall, while replacing water mains along Packard avenue, between Cudahy Avenue and the St. Francis border.