Water quality worries
I’ve been talking a lot about water lately, but, given that we’re always going to need it and that some people continue to attack our ability to access clean and reliable sources, I’m going to keep discussing it.
The state’s aging water pipe infrastructure has been in the news lately. Current estimates from the American Society of Civil Engineers put us in serious need of about $1 trillion in pipe replacement costs nationwide. In Wisconsin, the number comes to about $1 billion for drinking water needs, and another $6.33 billion for wastewater.
The issue has been all the more at the forefront since the crisis in Flint, Mich., began making headlines. An entirely avoidable catastrophe, a combination of environmental degradation by industry in the city over the years, and allegations of incompetence and corruption meant that a whole city was poisoned. Even after public outcry, legal actions, firings and increased funding to help Flint fix its systems, things are moving slowly and water remains undrinkable.
We have many areas in dire need of pipe upgrades in Wisconsin. Though major health consequences thankfully have been rare so far, we’re nearing a crisis point of our own. Last year alone, an Environmental Protection Agency study found 64 Wisconsin water systems that exceeded lead limits, including those in Lake Mills, Stoughton, Neenah, Racine and several schools. It should be noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control say there is no such thing as a safe level of lead in the blood of children.
A bipartisan bill wending its way through the state Legislature begins to address the problem, but it faces resistance from pro-business lobbies such as Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, which registered and testified in opposition.
The objection stems from the proposal to make water utilities responsible for covering costs of replacing lead service lines (which at least 176,000 Wisconsin water customers have, half in Milwaukee County alone). Currently, the law only allows utilities to replace pipes up to property lines, leaving homeowners responsible for the cost of replacing the rest. Given that it’s crucial to replace the whole pipe, not just a portion of it — a process that can dislodge more lead from the lines and further contaminate water — this becomes financially impossible.
The proposed bill would give utilities the ability to help homeowners; assistance that could come in the form of grants and low-to-no-interest loans targeted toward low-income customers. WMC’s environmental policy director, Lucas Vebber, pushed back against that, and claimed that cities should cover the costs and allegedly have “ample” money for it.
But the state placed limits on local property taxes in 2006, and further tightened the restrictions in 2011, making it cost prohibitive for cities to take on pipe replacement projects. WMC tried to use Madison as an example of a city that had done it, but Madison actually represents why this can’t be left entirely up to cities.
Madison first found high levels of lead in its drinking water in the early 1990s, but it took until 2001 to begin a project to replace them. Thankfully, Madison was also able to start its project before those state limits on property taxes went into place, and it was completed in 2007.
Meanwhile, the city of Milwaukee estimates it will take 50 years to replace all of its lead pipes. The time to start work on this was years ago, but better late than never. The bill (AB 78 and SB 48) has 50 co-sponsors from both parties and was initially passed quickly through a Senate committee, but it’s been stalled ever since.
It is in everyone’s interest to ensure that everyone has access to good, clean drinking water.
Email Emily Mills at: emily.mills@outlook.com