Getting the lead out

WEYAUWEGA – City officials are still working to determine exactly how many lead water service lines remain in the city, though recent testing shows the drinking water is well below federal limits for lead.

Water Superintendent Mike Lee said the city does not have a precise count of lead pipes on the public side of the system and only an estimate on the private, homeowner side. Based on inspections conducted before the current replacement project began, he estimates about 70 to 100 properties have confirmed lead service lines.

Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause health problems in all age groups and is especially harmful to children and pregnant women, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Lead enters drinking water when it corrodes from older plumbing inside a home or from the service line connecting a house to the water main. Federal law restricted the use of lead in plumbing materials in 1986, but many older homes may still have lead pipes or plumbing connected with lead solder.

Over the past several years, Weyauwega officials have worked to identify properties with lead service lines and build an inventory of the system.

Weyauwega received a Wisconsin DNR Safe Drinking Water Program grant to cover about half the cost of replacing lead service lines on private property in 2025, with homeowners responsible for the remaining share.

The first round of work includes about 50 properties, according to City Clerk Becky Loehrke. Scott Lamers Construction began replacing laterals late last year and continued work through mid-January. The contractor is expected to return in April to resume replacements and complete restoration work.

Once final costs are calculated, the city will send invoices to property owners for their portion of the replacement. Homeowners may either pay in full or arrange a payment plan with the city, Loehrke said.

For now, Weyauwega is not requiring homeowners to replace lead service lines.

“As of right now, we are not mandating anything,” Lee said. “That could change coming down the pipe, with the potential rules coming out. But as of right now, there’s nothing mandatory written in stone for the city of Weyauwega.”

Lee said he expects new state laws will eventually require the removal of lead service lines on both public and private property. Even without a mandate, the city does require that lead pipes be replaced when they are uncovered in emergency situations.

“If a house with a lead water line has a break in their water lateral, and we dig it up and find out that it is lead, we would never re-bury lead,” he said. “We would replace it.”

In those cases, he said the city has offered flexible payment options in the past, including spreading costs out on a customer’s water bill or dividing a portion of the cost on tax bills over several years.

Despite the presence of lead service lines, Lee said Weyauwega has not recorded elevated lead levels in its water quality testing. The city uses a phosphate-based treatment that coats pipes and helps reduce metals from leaching into drinking water.

In recent years, the DNR and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required all municipal water systems to inventory service lines on both the public and private sides. Weyauwega mailed notices to residents and scheduled basement inspections to identify pipe materials.

Residents who did not participate can still check their service line in the basement near the water meter, Lee said. Homeowners should locate the meter and examine the pipe connected to it to identify the material.

Galvanized pipes are magnetic, so a magnet will stick to them. Lead pipes are usually silver-gray and soft enough to scratch with a key. Copper pipes are orange, or greenish if they’ve aged, and are harder than lead. Plastic pipes in Weyauwega’s system are typically blue.

Residents who think they may have a lead service line should contact the city to discuss replacement options and possible project funding, he said.

Lee said Weyauwega’s biggest hurdle is completing a full, accurate inventory of service line materials. While it has been relatively straightforward to inspect basements and determine what type of pipe is used on private property, he said pinpointing materials in the public right of way is more difficult and requires specialized work.

Lee said he plans to budget for a hydro-vac excavation project. Under the plan, the city would hire a contractor with a specialized truck that uses high-pressure water to expose the service line at the curb stop or shut-off valve in the front yard. As the water loosens the soil, the slurry is vacuumed up, allowing crews to see the pipe material from the surface.

This approach lets the city identify what material the service line is made of without digging large trenches or disturbing yards more than necessary. Lee said if the project is funded, work could begin as early as next year and would be key to building a complete and accurate inventory of city-owned lead service lines.

The city also plans to restart its water meter change-out program in 2028, which will give staff another opportunity to inspect pipes in homes that previously declined inspections, helping to identify privately owned lead lines.