Frederica Freyberg:
In environmental news, drinking water flows through 150,000 lead pipes in Wisconsin affecting at least 92 communities. But the city of Wausau has a plan to remove all of its lead service lines from the street to the tap within five years. “Here & Now” reporter Nathan Denzin has more.
Nathan Denzin:
Every day, communities across Wisconsin get their drinking water from lead pipes.
Ann Hirekatur:
So lead exposure is dangerous to people of all ages, but pregnant women and young children are particularly at risk.
Nathan Denzin:
Ann Hirekatur is the lead and copper section manager at the Wisconsin DNR, where she works with local communities to identify and map lead pipes in Wisconsin and there are plenty. Milwaukee is particularly well-known for its lead pipes, but other towns and cities across the state are dealing with the issue too.
Katie Rosenberg:
We’re talking about public health, that we obviously care a lot about, and we’re talking about just keeping people safe and healthy and cultivating better trust in government.
Nathan Denzin:
Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg recently announced an accelerated lead pipe replacement effort that aims to take all of the city’s pipes out in five years. The issue has been a long-time concern.
Katie Rosenberg:
We could have estimated that we had about 8,000 lead pipes.
Nathan Denzin:
That’s about one lead pipe for every five residents. And that isn’t unusual in Wisconsin, where data from the National Resource Defense Council estimates that Wisconsin has the most lead pipes per capita in the nation. Lead pipes are a primary source of lead in drinking water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, accounting for about 20% of all lead poisoning.
Ann Hirekatur:
When water flows through the lead pipes, the pipes can corrode and the lead in the pipes can leach out into your drinking water.
Nathan Denzin:
While most lead pipes have an inner coating of minerals that has built up over years of use, insulating water from the lead, that insulation is fragile. If the water’s chemistry changes even slightly, that coating can be stripped away. Look no further than Flint, Michigan. When the city changed the source of its water in 2014, it stripped away the insulation on their pipes and released lead into the water supply. Lead is a toxin that can have serious health effects, including a decreased ability to pay attention, a decreased IQ, and underperformance in school.
Ann Hirekatur:
Small children are also particularly at risk of speech and hearing issues, growth and development delays, as well as behavioral and cognitive issues.
Nathan Denzin:
Most at risk, infants.
Ann Hirekatur:
It’s a particular risk to the infant because of the amount of liquid that they consume relative to their body size.
Nathan Denzin:
But that doesn’t mean adults are totally safe either.
Ann Hirekatur:
It can cause damage to the heart and kidneys and brain, it can cause high blood pressure, and it can also cause increased risk of cancer.
Katie Rosenberg:
It’s critical. It’s just time. We’ve been kind of taking a go at this for several years, maybe even a decade or two, but now is the time. We want safe water for everybody.
Tom Perez:
Well, frankly it was time decades ago.
Nathan Denzin:
Tom Perez is a senior adviser to President Biden and the head of intergovernmental affairs at the White House.
Tom Perez:
The science is clear. Lead, whether it’s in drinking water, whether it’s in paint, any ingestion of lead is potentially a killer.
Nathan Denzin:
Rosenberg has been working with Perez and other federal officials to secure funding from Bidens American Rescue Plan Act, which released billions in funding for lead pipe replacement.
Katie Rosenberg:
Because we have money, a crazy amount of money for the first time in, I mean, my generation.
Nathan Denzin:
Wausau is set to receive $80 million in funding for their effort. That money will go towards construction costs and training efforts for local plumbers.
Katie Rosenberg:
We have people reaching out to us, like, I’m a plumber, I want to do this. So we think we’ll be able to train and hire many people, which is also going to be a great benefit for the rest of the state.
Nathan Denzin:
As more plumbers are trained, the number of pipes replaced will increase.
Katie Rosenberg:
We’re starting with 500 pipes next year, which is a huge increase over what we usually do, between 20 and 40 a year.
Nathan Denzin:
While the target for year one is 500 pipes, that number will double to 1,000 in 2025, and increase each successive year. Those numbers are realistic, the DNR’s Hirekatur says, because a major barrier to lead pipe replacement has been lifted.
Ann Hirekatur:
It’s a lot more difficult for the private side because typically the property owner is responsible for paying for that removal.
Nathan Denzin:
But in Wausau —
Katie Rosenberg:
There is no cost to the homeowners.
Nathan Denzin:
Because of how the funding is structured, private homeowners don’t have to pay a dime.
Katie Rosenberg:
I went back and forth with a person who said there’s no way this is free, there’s no way. You’re going to put a lien on my property. You’re going to force me to pay for it, you’re going to tear up my yard. I said, no, we’re not allowed to, based on this money that we’re accepting.
Tom Perez:
The costs to the homeowner are nothing. The benefits of good health are priceless.
Nathan Denzin:
So while winter takes hold of the state, Wausau is already preparing for spring construction. For “Here & Now,” I’m Nathan Denzin in Wausau.
Frederica Freyberg:
For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin, visit our website at PBSwisconsin.org and then click on the news tab.
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