Activists Push Quicker Action To Reduce Lead Concern In Milwaukee

An activist group says recently-released city documents show Milwaukee isn’t doing enough to reduce lead in local drinking water.

The Freshwater for Life Action Coalition filed an open records request for three years of documents from City of Milwaukee management meetings.

Coalition spokesperson Robert Miranda said Thursday at a news conference that the records he’s received show big gaps in meeting dates, and not enough urgency about replacing lead drinking water pipes or supplying drinking water filters.

“When you look at those reports, and you look at the filter issue, the filter issue is woefully inadequately addressed, woefully inadequately advocated for, and ridiculously represented,” Miranda said. “Now if it’s negligent, I’ll wait to see their explanation on that, but what I see is total indifference to these concerns.”

Patrick Curley, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s Chief of Staff, said Miranda is more interested in getting media attention than addressing the larger concern of lead paint in homes.

He urged the Freshwater for Life Action Coalition to lobby the state Legislature and Congress for more money to replace lead water pipes.

Curley says Milwaukee needs about $750 million to fully replace more than 70,000 pipes, called laterals.