Lead service line contractor working toward 2024 replacement goals

CORRECTION: A previous version of the story misstated the number of lines as having been replaced instead of just identified for replacement. The new version adds the total amount of lines that have been replaced so far. And it clarifies that the contractor handles the private side only.

The contractor working on the lead service line replacement plan says they’re on track to reaching their goals for 2024. 

Eric Jones from CIP, the contractor hired by the city to replace lead lines in the city on the private side, says workers so far have identified 469 lines residents have agreed to be replaced this year. That’s still shy of the goal of 553 lines the city hopes to finish by the end of the year, but CIP plans to continue the work through October, according to a chart presented at the city’s Infrastructure Committee last week. The total lines replaced so far are 137, with 86 more to be done by the end of August.

Many of those lines were replaced on the city’s Southeast Side, where the city has been reconstructing Eau Claire Boulevard. The firm knocked on doors and held meetings in the neighborhood. 

The city announced last year that it would be one of the first recipients of a new program from the Biden Administration intended to fund the replacement of lead service pipes nationwide as lead pipes are associated with detrimental health outcomes, especially in developing children. That means replacing the roughly 8,000 lead service lines within the city. 

But less clear at the time was that the funding would come in the form of grants and loans, meaning there would be a cost to city taxpayers. And the city will hold a meeting this month to talk about what a lead service line ordinance will entail, which originally spooked residents who thought they would be required to replace their lines and to pay for them.

Those interested in seeing if their lines are lead and need replacement can find out at www.leadfreewausau.com.