Supply Chain Slows Lead Service Lines Replacement

Milwaukee’s effort to replace all its lead services lines hasn’t been helped by the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2022, the city will have failed to meet its replacement target in three consecutive years.

“We are on pace to replace over 900 services this year,” said Milwaukee Water Works (MWW) Superintendent Patrick Pauly to the Public Works Committee on Sept. 28. But the city-owned utility was budgeted to do 1,100.

The latest challenge the city is encountering is finding the parts to do the work. “We have nearly run out of a number of materials,” said Pauly. That includes two key valves (corporation and curb stops), clamps and tapping sleeves. “There have been times this year we have been short dozens of those parts and had to slow the process of replacing service lines.”

Pauly said the utility, which used to be able to order with 30-day lead times, is now being told to expect up to one-year lead times. “This issue is not going away any time soon,” he said. The superintendent said large orders were placed to increase the number of parts the utility keeps on hand.

After replacing 1,000 lines in 2019, the utility replaced 888 lines in 2020 and 984 in 2021. There are approximately 66,600 lead service lines, commonly called laterals, remaining in the city.

The city, since 2017, has mandated replacement of both publicly-owned and privately-owned portions of the service line in three situations: when there is a break, when the property is occupied by a childcare center and when the adjoining water main is replaced. In 2020, the city also began replacing lead laterals during major infrastructure projects like the rebuilding of a street. MWW replaces the childcare service lines for free. In the other situations, the city charges property owners a maximum of $1,723 (one-third of the private side cost), which can be paid over 10 years. The average full replacement cost, through June 30, was $10,177 according to Pauly’s report.

There is potential help on the way in the form of federal funding. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide the state $48 million next year for lead service line replacement, with more allocations to follow. President Joe Biden‘s infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu joined Pauly, Mayor Cavalier Johnson and other officials in July to tout the bill and look at a southside lateral replacement project. Vice President Kamala Harris visited a Milwaukee job training center in January, touting the benefits of workforce training programs related to the law.

MWW is developing an equity-focused plan that it hopes will lead to a significant allocation of the state grant coming to Milwaukee.

“What we have talked about is creating a prioritization plan for services and replacing them on a planned basis outside of any public improvement project,” said Pauly. He said he thought the strategy would score well with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ anticipated system.

It would allow the city to strategically execute more replacements. Pauly said the number of breaks, the primary situation where service lines are replaced, is holding steady at approximately 550 to 600 per year. Road-construction-related replacements fluctuate with the timing and scale of those projects. Water main replacements are increasingly occurring for failing pipes from the 1950s and 1960s, a period when the city had started using copper instead of lead on service lines.

But how many more service lines would a new plan allow the city to target? “We don’t know what type of award we are going to receive from the state,” said Pauly.

The first funds are expected to be provided in late summer 2023. The city is budgeting to replace 1,200 service lines next year.

The city-owned utility, which sells water to 16 municipalities, is limited on where it can derive funding from to replace laterals due to state utility regulations. It cannot use funds from customers to replace laterals at its own discretion. Further complicating the matter, because the service line is partially privately owned, the city cannot force replacement in many cases. Pauly said part of the goal of the plan is to allow the city to legally compel replacement.

Any house built before 1978, which accounts for most of the houses in the city, is likely to include lead paint. The last lead service line in the city was believed to be installed in 1962. City officials have repeatedly insisted that lead paint is the biggest danger, but that no amount of lead is safe for people. Interior plumbing, beyond the service line, is also likely to include lead. Individuals concerned about lead poisoning can learn more about lead-safe filters and testing on the MWW website. MWW also maintains a database of properties with known lead service lines.

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Related Legislation: File 220588