Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg in front of City Hall. MWC photo by Mike Leischner.
Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg will meet with the media this morning to discuss her appearance at last week’s panel discussion regarding lead service line replacement nationwide.
The discussion came as it was announced that Wausau would be one of over 100 communities participating in the Biden Administration’s Get the Lead Out Partnership.
According to a fact sheet provided by the White House, it’s a partnership designed to leverage existing efforts and funding to meet our commitment to accelerate the replacement of lead service lines and pipes by the end of the decade while creating good-paying jobs and prioritizing lead remediation efforts in overburdened and underserved communities. The Biden-Harris Get the Lead Out Partnership is a coalition of federal government, states, Tribes, local communities, water utilities, labor unions, and nongovernmental organizations that have committed to advance a shared set of principles to accelerate lead service line replacement.
It’s unclear what the plan means for Wausau residents. The city has historically participated in programs that assist homeowners looking to replace their lead service lines, especially those who live along streets that are due for complete reconstruction.
During her portion of the panel discussion, Rosenberg said that the city has some 8,000 lines that would need to be replaced at a cost of about $10,000 each, making the issue an $80 million problem for the city.
Other cities joining the Partnership include Sheboygan, Madison, Milwaukee, and Kenosha.
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