Wausau Mayor Discusses Lead Pipe Replacement

Monday, February 13th, 2023 -- 9:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg says she expects that city leaders will spend much of this year crafting the plan to remove lead pipes from the city's water infrastructure, both on the public and private side.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, she expects the city to have a better idea of what a timeline for the plan will look like later this spring. "We're finishing up the draft plan. We worked with a consultant to figure out what is it we need for us and then I'm hoping by, at least, that time, we'll have more information from the state on how this will work"

She says she would like to have some sort of plan for replacing pipes so residents know why they will be focusing on specific neighborhood. "That's the goal and especially as it comes to those street reconstructions, the big ones. Because that's really the opportunity."

She says they are already working to dovetail as many lead service line replacements as they can with major street reconstruction projects. It also remains unclear what funding sources will be available for residents, as Rosenberg and others have said they don't want the expense falling entirely on the shoulders of the home and property owners.

It's estimated that there are some eight thousand lead service lines still in use in Wausau, and the cost to replace them all could reach eighty million dollars. Rosenberg expects more information during the April water works meeting.

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