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Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Tuesday signed an ordinance creating a plan to start replacing lead service lines in the city.

Under the ordinance, the Milwaukee Water Works will begin replacing full lengths of lead pipes delivering water from street mains to homes to reduce residents' possible exposure to the toxic metal. It will also start in spring replacing lead service lines with copper at some 385 licensed child care centers and eight private schools.

"All right, let's get the work done," Barrett said after signing the measure at City Hall.

The ordinance was approved by the Common Council on a 12-3 vote last week.

Barrett called the plan "an important step in our long-term fight against childhood lead exposure."

The city's 2017 budget for the program begins an effort that could take several decades to complete by funding up to 700 full lead lateral replacements out of the known 68,300 residential lead pipes that pose a health risk to the public. There are some 300 lead service line leaks in Milwaukee each year, and those leaks would be covered in the 2017 plan, city officials said.

The ordinance will require the replacement of lead pipes in an emergency failure or leak, or during water main construction projects when the publicly owned lead pipe section is taken out and substituted with copper or other non-lead pipes.

In those cases, Milwaukee Water Works would pay 100% of the cost for the public utility side, and the city would also cover two-thirds of the cost of replacing privately owned laterals. That would leave the homeowner responsible for picking up the remaining one-third. The cost of replacing the private portion would be capped at $1,600 for the owner, who could have as long as 10 years to pay it.

Lead water pipes, known as service lines or laterals, connect municipal mains to residences built before 1951.

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.

Critics of the plan have said the city should pay for both the publicly and privately owned portions of lead laterals.

The ordinance, which was sponsored by Council President Ashanti Hamilton and Ald. James Bohl, requires full lead lateral replacements — both the public and private sections of pipe — when any portion of the line leaks or breaks, and during scheduled water main replacement projects in the same city block.

"We want it to be mandatory because unfortunately we have some landlords — some absentee landlords, in particular — who would not have this as a high priority," Barrett said. "And we want to make sure that this is a high priority."

Barrett said Milwaukee has been working on fighting childhood lead exposure "very aggressively and very proactively on for more than 20 years," adding that officials still believe the biggest issue with lead in Milwaukee is the exposure to lead paint.

"But we also know that there are too many children who are exposed to lead in the community," Barrett said.

In September, the mayor urged residents of Milwaukee homes built before 1951 to use filters capable of removing lead from drinking water.

In November, the city launched a pilot program for distributing free lead filters, which focused on helping low-income Milwaukee families with young children.

City officials are currently working on a public awareness campaign about lead, which is scheduled to launch in late January.

The campaign is expected to include outdoor and online advertising, a website and print materials.

Milwaukee also treats Lake Michigan water to control corrosion of lead pipes and prevent contamination of drinking water.

The lack of corrosion control was a key factor in the lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Mich. When the city switched to the Flint River for its water supply in late 2014 as a cost-cutting measure, the river water was not treated to control corrosion of toxic lead from laterals.