Wisconsin Invests $159M to Replace Lead Service Lines

Wisconsin has awarded more than $159 million in financial assistance for 29 municipalities to replace aging lead service lines, marking one of the state’s largest single-year investments in drinking water infrastructure. The funding, administered through the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, prioritizes small and disadvantaged communities and supports both public and private line replacement.

“There is no safe level of lead, period,” said Governor Tony Evers in announcing the awards. He emphasized that expanding access to clean, safe drinking water remains a central priority of his administration and noted that the 2025–27 Biennial Budget increased borrowing for the Environmental Improvement Fund by over $730 million, helping communities access low-interest financing for water infrastructure upgrades.

Major Allocations Across the State

Several of Wisconsin’s largest cities received substantial support, including:

• Milwaukee: Over $50 million, including $19 million in principal forgiveness
• Racine: $40 million, with more than $21 million in principal forgiveness
• Manitowoc: Over $14 million, including roughly $7.3 million in principal forgiveness
• Oshkosh: More than $6 million, with $2.7 million forgiven
• Chippewa Falls: Over $1.9 million
• Thorp: More than $733,000
• Rice Lake: $732,500

These allocations support a broader effort to eliminate more than 260,000 known lead lines statewide, along with more than 208,000 lines of unknown composition that may contain lead.

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) noted the national significance:

“Every family, every business, every school, and every community needs to know when they turn on their tap, it’s clean water coming out.”

She emphasized that Wisconsin stands to benefit substantially from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $15 billion for lead line identification and replacement nationwide.

Policy and Infrastructure Context

The Lead Service Line Replacement Program operates under the federal Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, offering municipalities exceptionally low-interest financing—0.25% for projects funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Projects not fully funded will still be eligible for subsidized funding at 33% or 55% of market rates.

Wisconsin has been steadily expanding its lead mitigation programs since 2017, providing more than $267 million to local governments over the last decade. The state has also adopted more protective public health standards, including lowering the childhood lead poisoning threshold to 3.5 µg/dL, expanding eligibility for intervention and follow-up services.

Broader Infrastructure Investments

Beyond lead pipe replacement, the 2025–27 Biennial Budget supports a range of water quality and environmental restoration projects, including:

• $7.5 million for contaminated sediment removal in the Great Lakes watershed
• $6.5 million for county land and water resource management projects
• $4 million for municipal flood control and urban nonpoint source pollution reduction
• $6 million for the Kenosha Dunes restoration project
• $2 million for arsenic remediation planning in Kewaunee Marsh

These investments, along with more than $12 million for county conservation staff—underscore the state’s parallel strategy of addressing both point-source and nonpoint-source water contaminants.

Wisconsin's Accelerated Efforts

Wisconsin’s accelerated efforts reflect an emerging national trend: lead service line replacement is becoming a central pillar of U.S. water infrastructure modernization, driven by federal funding conditions, heightened public health standards, and local utilities’ increasing focus on long-term resilience.

For municipalities, the capacity to secure low-interest financing now will influence infrastructure budgets for years, particularly as water systems confront rising costs tied to PFAS remediation, climate-related stormwater upgrades, and aging mains.