Gov. Tony Evers announced a new rule on Jan. 28 lowering the threshold for lead poisoning in Wisconsin, aligning it with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
The rule will reduce the threshold from five micrograms per deciliter to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, identifying more children with lead poisoning and connecting them to critical health services.
The measure, enforced by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), is the latest attempt by Evers’ administration to combat lead exposure, particularly in Milwaukee, where thousands of children are at risk.
The rule change comes as part of Evers’ broader initiative to combat lead contamination statewide. In his 2025 State of the State address, Evers declared 2025 as the “Year of the Kid,” touting the importance of children’s health, education and safety.
Statewide efforts to address lead contamination
In his State of the State address, Evers proposed over $6.2 million in the state budget for lead poisoning intervention and response for local health departments. This funding will be used to expand testing, provide medical support to affected children and implement early intervention services.
“Making sure our kids are healthy — physically and mentally — is a crucial part of improving outcomes in our classrooms,” Evers said. “But we have to connect the dots between school achievement and the challenges our kids are facing at home and in our communities.”
The proposed budget also includes investments to improve drinking water at water fountains in schools and financial assistance to homeowners for replacing lead service lines, which all property owners, regardless of income, must replace on their own.
Milwaukee’s lead crisis and funding shortfalls
Milwaukee remains the epicenter of Wisconsin’s lead crisis, with an estimated 65,000 residential lead service lines still in use. Since 2017, the city has replaced over 8,000 lead service lines, with another 3,500 replacements planned for this year. However, officials estimate that fully replacing Milwaukee’s lead pipes will require $700 million over the next 13 years.
While some funding is available, such as $26 million in federal pandemic aid allocated in 2021 for lead paint abatement, $6.2 million to increase grants for local health departments in 2025 and $83 million in aid from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a significant financial gap remains. Furthermore, securing additional funding from the state has remained difficult due to opposition from Republican lawmakers.
Republicans have argued that lead pipe replacement should be addressed at the local level. In 2019, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, expressed support for alternatives such as providing residents with drinking water filters instead of funding large-scale pipe replacement projects.
Evers has criticized the Republican-controlled Legislature for opposing investments in lead remediation.
“While Republican lawmakers have failed to provide meaningful state investments to help get lead out of our pipes and water, we are grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration, federal partners, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for supporting this important work in Wisconsin,” Evers said.
Republican lawmakers have not yet indicated whether they will support any lead remediation funding in their upcoming budget, but if blocked again, Evers’ administration may need to rely exclusively on federal funding to continue addressing the issue.
Statewide impact of lead contamination
While Milwaukee has the most severe lead contamination issues, many other Wisconsin cities struggle with aging lead pipes. Many municipalities are expected to seek state funding, but without additional state support, progress could be slow.
Earlier this month, the state announced the Lead Service Line Replacement Community Outreach Grant, aimed at helping municipalities educate residents about lead removal programs and collaborate with community organizations.
“This new grant program will provide much-needed outreach funding to support lead service line replacement,” said Steve Elmore, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Drinking Water and Groundwater program director. “This is an ideal time for municipal systems to foster trust and cooperation with their customers while, at the same time, safeguarding the quality of their drinking water.”
With Milwaukee still in need of hundreds of millions of dollars for full lead service line replacement and other cities facing similar challenges, securing long-term funding remains a critical issue. Whether state lawmakers will support Evers’ proposals — or whether the administration will be forced to seek alternative solutions — remains to be seen.
