Alderman Bohl: A better strategy is needed in dealing with lead laterals
Alderman Bohl offers food for thought on reducing lead in water and paint
In a newly released white paper (attached) Alderman Jim Bohl suggests the City of Milwaukee should look at a more effective strategy for reducing lead in tap water and in the home.
“Quite frankly, I see the plan to replace lead water lines across the entire city as incredibly daunting, expensive, and not solving the problem,” Alderman Bohl said. “We are talking about an endeavor that DPW now estimates will likely cost more than a billion dollars and based upon current spending rates would take 75 to 100 years to complete.”
“With a significant risk of lead also coming from internal plumbing and other fixtures in homes – even in some newer homes – a policy focused on lead service line replacement cannot be described as ‘the fix’ to the problem,” he said. “The evidence shows that it is not.”
In the City of Madison, for example, which undertook complete lateral replacement, only 49% of the lead in the water was found to come from service lines with other sources accounting for the remaining 51%.
Lead service lines would still be replaced for day cares and emergency breaks while the city pauses other replacement and prepares a long-term strategy to holistically review all sources of lead contamination including water, paint, soil, and others.
Given its limited resources, the city cannot afford partial solutions, especially when they are comparatively far more expensive. The Alderman points to one emergency service line replacement in the city last year where the $28,000 cost could have provided 250 households with year-round lead removing water filtration. “The issue is that $28,000 doesn’t even guarantee that home won’t experience a lead water problem now or in the future,” Alderman Bohl said. “However, a properly used lead-removing water filtration system would be about 99.6% effective in its lead removing capacity at an annual cost of a little over $100 per household.”
Alderman Bohl further raises concerns that in the wash of reporting following Flint, Michigan, that lead in water has seemingly pushed the concerns over lead paint to the back burner. He said he does not dismiss the concern about lead in water which he states is “significant and in need of real and obvious attention” but raises the point that the substantial spending being pushed toward water competes against lead paint remediation efforts in the city. “It should not be an either-or scenario, and we must not lose sight of the science or demonstrated effectiveness in reviewing long term strategies for overall lead remediation efforts,” he said.
Alderman Bohl said lead paint remediation must continue and should perhaps increase, making the creation of a complete environmental lead abatement proposal all the more important.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Lead Crisis
- MTEA Statement on Lead Exposure in MPS Buildings - Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association - Apr 30th, 2025
- Statement from Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez on Lead Hazards in MPS Buildings - Sup. Juan Miguel Martinez - Apr 29th, 2025
- MPS Closing Two More Schools For Lead Hazards - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 28th, 2025
- Milwaukee Public Schools Enters New Phase of Lead Cleanup - Milwaukee Public Schools - Apr 28th, 2025
- What To Know and How To Keep Kids Safe From Lead Poisoning - Evan Casey - Apr 25th, 2025
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Senator Tammy Baldwin Urge HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to Reinstate Childhood Lead Poisoning Experts at CDC, Push for Approval of Milwaukee’s Request for Federal Assistance - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Apr 23rd, 2025
- MPS’s Fernwood School to Reopen Following Lead Remediation Work - Milwaukee Public Schools - Apr 22nd, 2025
- Milwaukee School Board May Sue Paint Companies Over Lead Crisis - Evan Casey - Apr 19th, 2025
- Trump Administration Axed Federal Employees Needed for MPS Lead Crisis - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 14th, 2025
- New MPS Superintendent Dumps Beleaguered Facilities Director - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 3rd, 2025
Read more about Lead Crisis here
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Alderman Bohl: A better strategy is needed in dealing with lead laterals
Feb 26th, 2018 by Ald. Jim BohlAlderman Bohl offers food for thought on reducing lead in water and paint