Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced on Wednesday that more than $159 million will be allocated to 29 municipalities across the state to replace lead service lines.
“There is no safe level of lead, period, and getting these harmful contaminants out of our water systems once and for all has been a top priority of my administration since day one,” Gov. Evers said in a statement.
“Wisconsin has been a national leader in spearheading lead service line replacement efforts, and thanks in part to the bipartisan, pro-kid 2025-27 Biennial Budget I signed earlier this year, in which we were able to increase borrowing for the Environmental Improvement Fund by over $730 million to help meet statewide demand for low-interest financing for clean water and safe drinking water loans, dozens of municipalities across the state are getting a much-needed boost to continue this important work.”
Since the Lead Service Line Replacement Program began in 2017, the DNR and Wisconsin Department of Administration have provided over $267 million in financial assistance for lead service line replacement projects.
According to the DNR, throughout the state, there are more than 132,000 known public side lead service lines, more than 128,000 known private side lead service lines and more than 208,000 service lines of unknown composition that may contain lead.
