Gov. Evers Delivers Radio Address Highlighting Comprehensive Plan to Prevent Lead Poisoning and Ensure Clean Water for Kids and Families in 2025 Year of the Kid

Audio File of Radio Address.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered his weekly radio address highlighting his comprehensive plan to prevent lead poisoning and protect kids and families from harmful contaminants during the 2025 Year of the Kid and expand access to clean and safe drinking water for Wisconsinites across the state.

Gov. Evers kicked off 2025 Year of The Kid making several critical announcements building upon he and his administration’s work to ensure kids and families have access to safe, clean drinking water. The governor’s 2025-27 Executive Budget will:

• Address lead poisoning in homes, schools, and communities across the state by investing over $300 million in numerous initiatives aimed at removing lead service lines and keeping Wisconsinites’ drinking water and environment free from lead, including relaunching the Windows Plus Program to support lead-safe renovations;
• Invest over $145 million to fight PFAS contamination statewide and expand eligibility for key programs aimed at improving water quality. The governor’s comprehensive plan includes:
  • Providing funding for emergency resources like bottled water to households and communities impacted by water contamination;
  • Protecting innocent landowners like farmers who unknowingly spread biosolids containing PFAS on their land and invest in helping clean up biosolid contamination; and
  • Strengthening PFAS standards statewide by exempting rulemaking relating to setting enforceable standards for PFAS in Wisconsin waters from the REINS Act; and
• Expand and increase funding for the Well Compensation and Well Abandonment Grant Program to continue the Evers Administration’s work getting harmful contaminants out of private wells, including PFAS.

Hey there, folks! Governor Tony Evers here.

Every Wisconsinite should have access to clean and safe drinking water no matter where they live, and lead exposure and poisoning is especially dangerous.

There’s no safe level of lead exposure for kids—even a small exposure can affect a kid for life, reducing learning capacity and attention span, and affecting academic achievement.

So, I approved an emergency rule strengthening our lead standards statewide and announced new investments to support kids and families when they are exposed to lead.

But we should be working to prevent our kids from ever being exposed to lead in the first place.

Wisconsin has recently seen cases of lead poisoning in kids who were exposed to dangerous levels of lead at school—at school, folks.

That should never happen anywhere in Wisconsin. Period. We have to work together to fix this.

I’m asking for bipartisan support to invest over $300 million to help get lead out of our service lines, bubblers, schools, homes, and child care centers for good.

This includes relaunching the Windows Plus Program to support lead-free renovations in schools, homes, and child care centers.

And lead is just one contaminant that’s affecting kids, families, and water across our state.

PFAS exposure at certain levels can mean developmental delays in kids, increased cholesterol levels, reduced immunity response to infections, and even heightened risk for some cancers.

And addressing PFAS and other contaminants grows harder and more expensive with each day of delay.

Republicans and Democrats must work together to finally get something done on this issue, to strengthen groundwater standards for PFAS, and support my investment of over $145 million to fight PFAS contamination statewide.

Cleaning up our water is a key part of our work to keep kids and families across Wisconsin healthy and safe.

So, in 2025 the Year of the Kid, let’s make it happen, folks. Thank you.

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.