Damakant Jayshi
The Wausau Water Works Commission on Tuesday deferred making a decision on a new ordinance requiring mandatory replacement of private lead service lines in the city and will now seek public feedback on it.
The date of the public engagement session has not been finalized yet.
“We haven’t had time to schedule those sessions yet because we’re prepping for a White House visit to talk more about LSLs this week,” Mayor Katie Rosenberg told Wausau Pilot & Review. “But I would anticipate getting an approach planned before the next utility commission meeting.”
The mayor told the commissioners on Tuesday that “we have time to be thoughtful and engage the public in this.”
The lead and galvanized lines have long been considered risky for domestic water consumption, and local governments have been replacing those older lines with copper or plastic options. The older lines are both on the public side and on private properties. The private portion of an LSL lies between the curb stop and the connection point inside a private property.
The mayor pointed to $5.8 million in state funding for 2024 that Wausau received recently for service line replacements. Of this, $3.6 million is principal forgiveness and the rest coming through a loan with a 0.25 percent interest rate. The funding assistance was announced by Gov. Tony Evers’ office last month.
Rosenberg said homeowners and businesses – the private side – may not be responsible for the cost, which averages $10,000 nationally, since the city would likely use Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the efforts.
“Our understanding of BIL funding is that if we are using that funding source, the homeowner/property owner cannot be asked to pay for that replacement,” the mayor said.
The city is currently looking to replace 500 LSLs in 2024, compared to the prior replacement average of 30-50 LSLs per year.
Since the state funding can only be used for LSL replacement, money for any outreach effort which the city intends to launch would have to come from other sources. “I’ve had at least a dozen meetings with national foundations and federal departments about where to find funding for that and I feel good that we’ll get there,” she said.
The city is directly responsible for 2,500 public side LSL replacements. The cost, based on the national average, as Public Works Director Eric Lindman told this newspaper, could be $25 million. But so far, city officials have not yet decided on the source for this amount.
Water commission members prefer voluntary participation
At the Wausau Water Works Commission meeting on Tuesday, some commissioners expressed concerns about the financial impact on ratepayers due to any mandatory requirement. They also spoke about any potential damage or disturbance to their driveways, garages and decks, and likely conflicts with residents who do not wish to be forced into replacement.
Commissioner Jim Force said the draft lacked language that could reassure residents concerned about its impact. The measure should provide for a discussion between a homeowner who objects and the utility that is trying to enforce the ordinance, he said.
Force suggested getting public feedback before the commissioners start offering suggestions and changes to the draft ordinance.
Commissioner John Robinson said that while the draft ordinance has provisions for exemptions it is unclear on the specifics of the role of the commission. “I would like to have a better idea about what those guidelines would be, those parameters before we go ahead with the ordinance,” he said.
Robinson said if the city adds another $25 million under water rates, that would be excessive – and options should be considered to reduce the amount to a more reasonable and affordable sum. He also suggested developing a clear timeline of the processes involved.
Public Works Director Lindman initially pushed to have the proposed ordinance passed in its current mandatory nature. Lindman said they have already submitted an ‘intent to apply’ for 2025 with the DNR.
Lindman told this newspaper that part of the requirement of the PSC application is that “the city have a mandatory replacement ordinance approved in order for the PSC to approve user rates to be used to pay for private side LSL.” He added that the PSC application is currently being drafted and will need to be approved by the commission and Wausau City Council before submitting it for consideration.
The public works director said the decision on how to pay back any loans for private side LSL replacement still needs to be decided.
The commission did not take any vote after the mayor said they would work on a timeline, including the proposed public engagement session.
