The city of Rhinelander is eligible to apply for up to $300,000 in grant funds from the state’s Environmental Improvement Fund’s (EIF) Safe Drinking Water Loan Program’s Private Lead Service Line (LSL) Replacement Funding Program to help city residents replace lead water lines into or out of their homes.
The water and wastewater committee has known about this eligibility for a couple months now, and a flyer was sent out with the most recent water bills advising homeowners to check their pipes to see if they are lead.
However, so far, no one has come forward seeking information on how to obtains funds to have their lead pipes replaced, public works director Tim Kingman told the committee Monday.
"The reason we have not found a use for these funds is because there is very little – if any – locations where there are any lead service pipes present in the city’s system," Kingman said.
He added that even though the city would drop its claim to the funding this year, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be able to reapply in the future if locations with lead service pipes are located at a later date.
Alderperson Dawn Rog suggested the city wait until the June committee meeting to make a decision to withdraw its application.
In hindsight, Kingman said the flyers should have been sent out with the water bills a few months earlier because the city would be hard-pressed to meet the June 30 deadline for applying for the loan now.
"What happens if we get three people who say they have lead pipes?
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