Don Behm

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Owners and residents of tens of thousands of Milwaukee homes built before 1951 should install faucet filters capable of removing lead from drinking water, Mayor Tom Barrett said Wednesday.

"I strongly urge anyone who lives in a home built before 1950-'51 to get a filter," Barrett said at a public forum on drinking water held at Marquette University Law School.

About 70,000 city residences, including duplexes, or nearly 45% of the total, receive water from street mains through a lead pipe known as a lateral.

Although Milwaukee treats Lake Michigan water to control corrosion of lead from those pipes and prevent contamination of drinking water, this step is not a 100% guarantee of clean water, a drinking water treatment scientist said Wednesday.

"As long as the lead pipe is there, no one should consider the water safe" to drink, said Marc Edwards, a professor of environmental and civil engineering at Virginia Tech. Edwards has led independent investigations of lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, Mich., and Washington, D.C.

Edwards said Wednesday that the costly replacement of all lead laterals in Milwaukee could take 20 or 30 years, or longer. As an interim measure to protect public health, Edwards recommended use of filters at kitchen taps to remove the lead.

Filters certified by testing laboratories to remove 98% or more of lead particles are sold at hardware stores at a cost $30, he said. Use of the filter will prevent lead poisoning until lead water pipes can be replaced throughout the city, Edwards said.

Certified filters proved effective in Flint, according to Edwards.

In a conversation with Milwaukee public works officials, Edwards recommended they develop a public education campaign to emphasize the need to maintain the filters properly and provide an online video that would instruct residents how to properly install them.

Public Works Commissioner Ghassan Korban said it would cost at least $2.1 million for the city to purchase one $30 filter for each of the 70,000 residences served by a lead lateral.

Flint officials distribute filters to the public at no cost.

Flushing water out of a kitchen faucet for a few minutes before using it for drinking or cooking also can reduce the risk of contamination, but it does not eliminate it, Edwards said.

The Milwaukee Water Works advises residents of older homes to flush a cold water faucet until it feels colder, especially if a faucet has not been used for six hours or longer, such as overnight.

Barrett said he would present a plan to replace lead laterals in the 2017 budget. He will consider adding a program to buy water filters for private residences as part of that plan, he said.

Milwaukee Ald. Bob Donovan said Wednesday that he would schedule a meeting of the Common Council's Public Safety Committee to discuss the safety of drinking water. In a statement, Donovan questioned why Barrett had not previously warned residents about the danger of lead in water.

Barrett in January, however, first raised concerns about the lead pipes. At the time, he and other city officials said replacing the lead pipes would cost the city and residential property owners $511 million to $756 million, depending on lengths of the pipes.

The city owns the lateral from the water main to the property line; the property owner is responsible for the section between the property line and the residence.

The state Department of Natural Resources has pledged $2.6 million to help fund Milwaukee lead lateral replacement efforts, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp said Wednesday. DNR officials also will study the availability of funds to help purchase water filters for city residents.

The city's first priority for replacing pipes will be the 385 state-licensed day care centers, according to public works officials.