Detroit’s Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is intensifying its lead service line replacement initiative. The department aims to remove over 1,000 aging lead lines per month, funded in part by an $85 million state grant.
Last year, DWSD established a goal to replace approximately 80,000 lead lines over the next decade. Director Gary Brown announced that the department has already exceeded its initial target of replacing 150 lines per week. Brown, alongside Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Director Phillip Roos, provided an update on the city’s Lead Service Line Replacement Program. The comprehensive undertaking is estimated to cost around $800 million.
Despite challenges posed by the aging infrastructure, Detroit’s drinking water remains below the lead action level at 9 parts per billion (ppb). The current state action level for lead is 15 ppb, slated to reduce to 12 ppb in January 2025.
Mayor Duggan emphasized Detroit’s proactive approach, stating, “Detroit is different than a lot of other cities in America. We didn’t wait until we had a health problem. We are getting ahead of it and replacing those lead lines before we have any sign of it.”
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has been instrumental in supporting lead line removal efforts, investing over $958 million in infrastructure upgrades and implementing stringent regulations. In February, the governor proposed an additional $40 million for lead line replacement work.
The initiative is part of a broader national conversation about water infrastructure, particularly highlighted by the 2014 Flint water crisis. Lead service lines, primarily found in single-family homes, duplexes, and small storefronts, are being replaced with copper or other non-lead materials. DWSD has replaced over 3,000 lead service lines from 2018 to 2022 during water main replacement projects.
DWSD’s neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach prioritizes areas with older housing stock, high numbers of children and seniors, and significant low-income households. Since implementing this approach, over 4,000 replacements have been completed in 15 neighborhoods across all City Council districts.
DWSD’s workforce is 54% Detroit residents, and the department plans to expand its lead service line replacement team as additional funding becomes available. Tiffany Jones, DWSD’s Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion Director, leads contractor outreach efforts to engage local and regional contractors for the replacement work.
For more information on current and upcoming neighborhoods scheduled for lead line replacements, visit Detroit’s official website. DWSD is also working on a live map that will be accessible on the city website in the near future.
