| Population: | 233,2091 |
| Project length: | 11 years, completed in 2011 |
| Project scope: | 8,000 lead service lines replaced |
| Cost: | $15.5 million, about $2,000 per line2 |
Madison, WI, was the first major city in the U.S. to fully replace all its lead service lines. The 11-year project, completed in 2011, replaced 8,000 lines and cost $15.5 million.
After EPA testing in 1992 revealed lead water levels higher than the legal limit, Madison officials decided that full LSL replacement was the best course of action to eliminate risk of lead from water service lines. The city initially used a fully decentralized approach of voluntary participation and relied on homeowners to pay to replace their side of the line. In 2000 the city approved an ordinance that required property owners to replace their side of the line in accordance with the city’s LSL replacement plan and authorized fines of $50 to $1,000 per day for noncompliance.3 The ordinance ensured that the city could go block by block to replace LSLs—a significantly more efficient and less costly approach than replacing lines one property at a time.
Officials also used a creative approach to fund LSL replacement. The Madison Water Utility rented out space on top of its water towers to cell phone companies for their antennae.4 This provided enough revenue—not only to cover the public side of the replacement, but also to fund property owner subsidies of up to $1,500 per line,5 which exceed the average cost of $1,340.6
Notes
1 As of 2010, the U.S. Census date closest to the completion date of the LSL replacement program. See U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Madison city, Wisconsin.
2 Information for utilities on lead service replacement | Water Utility, City of Madison, Wisconsin.
3 Madison, WI, Lead Water Service Line Replacement, Sec. 13.18 Cr. by Ord. 12,544 (2-18-00).
4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Requirements for States and Public Water Systems, LSLR Financing Case Study: Madison, WI, available at LSLR Financing Case Study: Madison, WI | US EPA.
5 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Requirements for States and Public Water Systems, LSLR Financing Case Study: Madison, WI, available at LSLR Financing Case Study: Madison, WI | US EPA
6 Lead Pipes, Prescriptive Policy and Property Values, September 20, 2019.
