By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
Wausau homeowners with lead water pipes could soon be required to replace them, as a mandatory ordinance that has been stalled since 2024 returns to the Water Works Commission on Tuesday.
The commission is expected to vote on a recommendation to send the ordinance back to the City Council in August, two years after the council approved the measure’s amended language but never took final action, leaving it in limbo, according to a memo from Public Works Director Eric Lindman that was included in Tuesday’s meeting packet.
The timing is determined by money. The state forgiveness that has covered most homeowner costs has fallen from 100% in 2025 to 75% this year, and the Department of Natural Resources expects those forgiveness funds to be depleted by the end of 2028. Without a mandatory regulation, replacing the on-site portion of a line remains voluntary — and commissioners were told in June that the utility would be in violation of federal regulations within 10 years and face state penalties if the lines were not replaced.
The mandate itself is federal in nature: EPA’s improvements to lead and copper rules require that all lead-containing pipes in the country be removed by the end of 2037. Lead in drinking water is linked to serious health effects, particularly in children.
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Who pays is the unresolved question
When the council passed the ordinance in July 2024, four residents spoke against it, citing costs and lack of public participation. Alders responded with an amendment, adding a clause stating that the mandated replacement “will only be carried out if grant funds are available to fully fund the homeowner’s work, including restoration of the property.” The amended ordinance passed 10-1, with Dist. 9 Alder Vicki Tierney was against it – then the council voted unanimously for the postponement and it never came back.
This full funding clause is still being drafted. But the funding it relies on is shrinking. Wausau’s 2027 grant application assumes that about $11 million of the work will be 75% privately contracted, with the remainder only 50% contracted. The city also received $2.8 million less than it requested in 2026.
The key question that remains for the Commission and Council to resolve is whether the mandate will pause if funding is insufficient, or whether homeowners will begin paying the difference. In previous discussions, Mayor Doug Diny estimated a homeowner’s share could be about $1,500, or about $300 per year over five years. If the ordinance passes, city documents show options include allowing the Public Service Commission to transfer up to 50% of private costs to water rates, low-interest or no-interest city loans, or placing unpaid costs on the tax rolls.
The draft ordinance has enforcement features: fines ranging from $50 to $1,000, with each day counted as a separate violation, and authority for the utility to shut off water service to a property with a noncompliant pipe after notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
The program so far
Wausau’s replacement program, conducted with Community Infrastructure Partners under the EquiFlow banner, has replaced 3,553 lead or galvanized pipes since 2024 and secured $34.2 million in state funding, including $20.4 million in capital forgiveness, according to a July presentation included in the package. The program reports a homeowner approval rate of over 96%.
This year’s work focused on more difficult “rock houses” that require excavation through heavy rock, with about 500 replacements completed so far in 2026. The city has requested $18.6 million to replace 1,310 more lines in 2027 — but the favorable three-year construction bids received in 2024 expire this year and the entire 2027 scope will have to be rebid at prices expected to rise. When the work is completed in 2027, fewer than 2,200 Wausau homes would still have a line.
The state is ordering an ammonia test for Wausau’s spring water
Also on Tuesday, commissioners will hear about a DNR order requiring Wausau Waterworks to test its source water for ammonia between October and December as part of a statewide nitrification survey. The order, issued under a provision allowing the state to require testing to protect public health, follows an August 2025 incident in the village of Williams Bay in which nitrification — a process in which microorganisms convert ammonia into nitrite and nitrate — resulted in levels of contaminants that posed serious health risks, according to the DNR.
The investigation is nationwide and does not represent an allegation against Wausau. However, the June 12 letter to the utility states that elevated ammonia levels can impair disinfection and corrosion protection – which can lead to harmful bacteria and increased lead and copper levels on the faucet. The DNR will review the results in early 2027 and may require additional monitoring of any systems where ammonia reaches 0.2 milligrams per liter.
Other business
Commissioners will also receive an update on the wastewater headworks screening project, scheduled for substantial completion Oct. 15, as well as the completed Cherry Street lift station, which is awaiting final punch list items. The commission will choose an August meeting date – either August 12 or 13 – because council chambers will be used for in-person absentee voting during the first week of August.
How to take part
The Wausau Water Works Commission will meet on Tuesday, July 14, at 11:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 407 Grant St. The meeting will be broadcast on the city’s YouTube channel and broadcast on channel 981. The lead service line ordinance is expected to go to the City Council in August; Commissioners recommended public engagement in June ahead of that vote.
Related
https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2026/07/09/mandatory-lead-pipe-replacement-returns-to-wausau-water-commission-as-grant-money-dwindles/
