MILWAUKEE – Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s plan to replace lead lined pipes is a long term project with the potential to provide water equity to Milwaukee. A local plumber says she thinks the city is in a difficult place to achieve the lofty goal, but not an impossible one.
Jessie Cannizzaro is the Master Plumber for Milestone Plumbing in Wauwatosa. She says patience will be a virtue throughout this initiative and that strategic spending will be critical.
“I do not know that it will ever happen fast enough to be ideal. Also recognizing the city does not have an unlimited budget, I can totally see where the city is between a rock and a hard place,” Cannizzaro told WTMJ.
Cannizzaro cautioned against a false sense of protection against lead. Copper lined lateral pipes designed to bring water into a home are attached to most houses in Milwaukee County. Because of these updated pipes, some homeowners may assume they are protected from lead entering their house. Cannizzaro says they still risk consuming water that travelled through lead-lined pipes. She encouraged extra levels of filtration and regularly testing your water.
The push to remove lead is not without its risks, Cannizzaro stressed that laborers working on the pipes need to be careful.
“As that lead is being worked on, people cut it. And if you are not taking great care to making sure to not introduce the lead shavings to the water system, you can introduce extra lead in as you are repairing it.”
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