Lead Service Lines and Health Across Wisconsin

Community Advisory Boards (CABs) across Wisconsin are mobilizing around the lead pipe crisis, with Milwaukee residents at the forefront, documenting how 65,000 lead service lines are endangering families and children. Community members from Milwaukee have been sharing their experiences and organizing strategies with residents in other Wisconsin cities like Green Bay, Madison, Racine, and Superior, where thousands of lead pipes also threaten family health and safety.

Through community-led water testing, resident health surveys, and neighborhood organizing across different Wisconsin communities, the CAB has been documenting how lead pipes affect daily life for families, from parents buying bottled water they can't afford to children developing learning problems to elderly residents facing serious health complications. The community health assessments and door-to-door conversations show that families across Wisconsin are dealing with similar fears about their tap water and similar struggles to get city officials to take action.

Community members from urban neighborhoods, small towns, and rural areas have reported shared experiences: discovering dangerous lead levels in their water, fighting for affordable pipe replacement, and demanding that landlords and cities take responsibility instead of forcing families to pay thousands of dollars they don't have. These common struggles across different types of Wisconsin communities show us that residents everywhere need to work together and learn from each other's organizing efforts.

The community advisory approach puts residents first because the board knows that families dealing with lead pipes every day are the real experts on what solutions will work. By connecting communities across Wisconsin, the board is seeking to demand that everyone has access to safe drinking water regardless of where they live or how much money they have.

The CAB believes that clean, safe drinking water is a basic human right, and that Wisconsin communities deserve affordable, community-centered solutions that don't force families to choose between paying rent and protecting their children from lead poisoning.

Please go through each of the activities below and share your thoughts about lead service lines in Wisconsin!