The city of Wausau was just completing a $60 million carbon treatment system to remove PFAS from drinking water.
Then came an imperative to remove lead-containing water service lines from an estimated 8,000 homes. Despite multiple challenges and a cost projected at $60 to $80 million, leaders of this central Wisconsin community of 40,000 residents moved aggressively with a five-year replacement plan under an innovative performance-based contracting model.
The arrangement with prime contractor Community Infrastructure Partners (CIP) enables the city to remove lead lines at a much faster pace and at less cost than would be typical under traditional approaches.
As of late 2025, two years into the program, 2,139 lines had been replaced, more than half the cost covered by federal grants and the other half by loans at 0.25% interest, provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Homeowners pay nothing for the work and, to date, no rate increases have been directly attributed to the project.
Supervising for the city is Eric Lindman, P.E., director of public works and utilities. Leading from the contractor side are Shawn Kerachsky, CIP president and CEO, and Sean Agid, chief business officer. They talked about the project in an interview with Treatment Plant Operator.
TPO: Why did the city give lead line replacement such a high priority?
Agid: The $15 billion allocated for lead line replacement in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was only available for five years, so there was a race to access that funding to maximize what could be done in a short window of time. Wausau was starting from a place where they could replace only 50 or 60 lines per year. We needed to secure as much funding as possible, especially since 49% of it is in grants. There was a lot of free money to be had, and the best way to access it was to get ahead of the curve.
TPO: Why did the city choose to work with a contractor?
Lindman: Under the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, we eventually have to replace the lead lines. The question was how to do it at scale and maximize the available funding. Suppose that over the next five to seven years we hired 10 employees and all they did was lead service line replacement. What would that cost us? A lot of complexities go with that. How do we reach the public? We’d be working on private property. We would need to get inside homes. CIP came to us in 2023 to discuss a different type of structure because we just didn’t have the resources in-house. That is where our partnership began.
TPO: How was CIP officially selected?
Lindman: In 2023 we solicited engineering firms and other professional firms for statements of qualifications. We received several statements, and CIP was by far the most qualified to move forward with a project like ours.
TPO: How would you describe the traditional model for lead line replacement projects?
Kerachsky: It is typically driven by large engineering and construction firms that are already working with the cities and utilities. The traditional cost model is based on time and materials.
TPO: How does Wausau’s approach differ?
Kerachsky: Our structure is performance-based. It is a fixed contract that ties our compensation to specific goals: a minimum number of line replacements per year at a not-to-exceed price. Any savings from replacements that cost less than the specified price stay in the program. As the city team became familiar with how it works, they quickly understood that this approach shifts all the risk of delivery to us. We are 100% motivated, financially and otherwise, to get this done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
TPO: How does the city determine the number of lead service lines that need replacing?
Lindman: With our GIS, we have a pretty good handle on the inventory on the city-owned side of the mains. On the private side, we have a lot of unknowns, and we’re working to inventory what we have. We’ve noted the years when typically lead lines were installed, and we’ve noted the newest homes in the city where we’ve found lead lines. A lot of the homes are in areas that the city annexed, and we don’t know what was happening with lead lines in those areas before annexation. So there are a lot of challenges with the inventory on the private side. We’re working through that in parallel with our project with CIP.
TPO: How much of the inventory requires physical inspection?
Lindman: If the line material is unknown, we have to put eyes on it. We try to get the homeowner’s buy-in so that we can get into the house and do the physical inspection. That takes care of probably 60%-70% of the lead lines, but it still leaves 30%-40% where maybe there was a meter in a pit and they ran copper up during a repair. We know that’s probably just the tail coming up, so the service line is probably lead.
TPO: How was the total cost of the replacements estimated?
Agid: The total will depend on future construction pricing, but for the first two years our average cost is approximately $9,000 per line. That would mean less than $80 million all in, but the total also depends on how many full and how many partial replacements we have. About half of the homes we work with have lead on the private side only, and they are cheaper to replace than those with lead on both sides. So the estimate is $60-$80 million.
TPO: How important is public outreach as part of the project?
Lindman: A multipronged approach to community outreach is essential, in part because Wausau has significant Hispanic and Hmong populations, and also because the replacement process itself is disruptive. We’ve done everything from sending out flyers to having a separate website where people can get information, set up inspections and sign right-of-entry forms online. We’ve done door-to-door canvassing, and we’ve set up tables at public events. We’ve even held special events in some neighborhoods to bring people out. It’s about engaging and building trust with the public.
TPO: Are special measures taken to address cultural and language differences?
Kerachsky: Yes. It’s essential to consider the demographics and the cultural sensitivities of the neighborhoods we’re working in. To that end, we partnered with the Hmong and Hispanic Communication Network, which was founded during COVID to address the ethnic populations that had vaccine hesitancy. We had Hmong and Hispanic people going to homes to engage with people who shared their ethnicity. In a number of cases, the homeowners already knew the people who were on the other side of the door.
TPO: How receptive have the homeowners been?
Lindman: In order to require people to replace the private-side lead, we would need to have an ordinance in place. Our council didn’t want to enact such an ordinance. As long as we’re getting grant funding for the private side, we didn’t want to mandate that people do this. So everything that is happening is being done voluntarily. We’ve had 97%-98% of people granting permission, and that’s because of the public outreach and the connection with the community. The alders have reached out to me throughout the process and they have positive things to say about what residents have told them. That’s another testament to how well the project is going.
TPO: What technique is used for the actual line replacement?
Lindman: Most often, we use horizontal directional drilling, similar to installation of conduit for a fiber optic line, except that we’re deeper, seven to eight feet down. Inside the home they cut out a piece around where the lead line comes in. They run the drill rod right up inside the home, connect the copper line, pull that out to the main and make the new tap. Typically, they leave the old line in the ground.
TPO: Once permission is secured, what is the basic procedure for replacing a line?
Kerachsky: Owners typically get a two-week notice when their line is to be replaced. On the day of the service, their water is shut off for about four hours. After the water is turned back on, they get a pitcher filter with six months of filters. That’s an EPA requirement because a line replacement could dislodge lead particles and cause a slight and temporary spike of lead in the water. Crews typically do 10-15 homes per day, going block by block.
TPO: Do local plumbing contractors perform the actual replacements?
Lindman: Yes. Five Star Energy is the prime construction contractor, and they sub out the plumbing work to local businesses. Five Star is a Milwaukee-based company that operates statewide, but it behooves them to work with contractors locally.
TPO: How would you describe the roles that CIP plays in the project?
Kerachsky: We are the only entity contracted directly to the city, so everybody else rolls up under us. We are responsible for the entire process from putting in the applications for funding through post-replacement delivery of pitcher filters.
Agid: I have actual login where I submit applications to the DNR for funding, and I handle all the closings. It’s literally all-encompassing: financing, construction, engineering, inspection, outreach, every component necessary to a successful project.
TPO: How is the work being planned for the rest of the project years?
Kerachsky: Sean [Agid] does a tremendous amount of financial planning and analysis for the city, from a census tract perspective, to determine where the most principal forgiveness (grant money) is going to come from. He works with the city, looking at the census tracts and at the community at large, to decide where we need to work to maximize grant eligibility. It’s a very strategic approach that’s driven by what the most beneficial financial picture is.
TPO: What sorts of challenges have come up during the project?
Lindman: Any construction project has challenges on site. We have homes that are challenging to get into and homes where it’s hard to get the line in because of bedrock. We have equipment breakdowns and all the things that happen on any project. It’s just that typically when a municipality does a project, it’s all one project done on public land. In 2025, we did 1,534 services, and that’s 1,534 individual projects. That magnifies the complexities, so having one entity responsible, but following all of our requirements, has been hugely advantageous. I would absolutely recommend this structure for any city that doesn’t have the internal resources to do lead line replacement.
TPO: How does Wausau compare in terms of progress with other cities of similar size?
Kerachsky: Wausau is replacing more lines per capita by far than any other community, and I would say that is true nationally. There are some communities in the state that couldn’t get the volume done that they intended to this year. So the DNR said, ‘We have an extra $1.2 million; do you have the capacity to take it on this year?’ And we did, so we were able to increase our volume significantly. Looking at communities like Wausau with under 50,000 population, I don’t think anyone has come close to replacing over 2,000 lines over an 18-month period.
TPO: What happens when federal funding for line replacement runs out after five years?
Kerachsky: When the federal funding is gone, if Wisconsin doesn’t put more money to the program, then Wausau will be exponentially ahead of communities that are now doing 300 to 400 lines per year, while they have thousands to replace. Then the only way those cities will be able to pay for that is through rate increases. And when you factor in inflation, and that they will not even get the quarter-percent interest on the loan side, they’re going to spend three to seven times as much by not doing what Wausau is doing.
