Municipal Strategies for Increasing Enrollment in LSLR Programs: Webinar Recording and Takeaways

waterresources
Written By Jack Travis

The LSLR Collaborative recently hosted a webinar titled “Municipal Strategies for Increasing Enrollment in LSLR Programs” featuring Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), Milwaukee Water Works (MWW), and the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC). The webinar discussed utility strategies for efficiently engaging households and gaining access to private-side lead service lines (LSL) for replacement. For more information, see our webinar page. 

Key Takeaways

Here are five key takeaways from the presentation and the panel featuring representatives from DWSD and MWW:

  • Utilities have used automatic enrollment strategies to increase replacement program enrollment, gain access to private-side laterals, and reduce resources dedicated to enrollment and access paperwork and follow-up. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss these strategies with a representative from EPIC (jack@policyinnovation.org), DWSD (Sonali.Patel@detroitmi.gov), or MWW (evornh@milwaukee.gov).

    • Automatic enrollment strategies include: mandatory replacement, no direct cost to property owners, default enrollment, opt-out through owner-initiated replacement, occupant facilitation of entry for replacement, and water service restoration after replacement. Find municipal examples and read more about these policies here. 

  • Through the occupant facilitation of entry strategy, Detroit has been able to scale up replacements and scale down costs. By seeking access to the service line from any adult occupant, Detroit more directly engages households and communities and includes more households in cost-efficient neighborhood-by-neighborhood projects. In the eight years since Detroit adopted this policy, there have been no complaints from property owners.

  • Detroit mandates replacements and offers them at no direct cost to property owners, strategies that enable its neighborhood-by-neighborhood projects. To date, Detroit has replaced almost 16,000 LSLs, and neighborhood-scale projects have played a substantial role in this achievement.

  • Milwaukee recently began offering replacements with no direct cost to property owners. Along with its replacement mandate and neighborhood prioritization program, this strategy has helped Milwaukee replace LSLs at scale in the neighborhoods with the most LSLs, greatest public health concerns, and highest economic need. To date, Milwaukee has replaced around 14,000 LSLs. Milwaukee is slated to replace 5,000 LSLs in 2026, including 3,800 LSLs through its prioritization program. 

  • The LSLR Collaborative regularly hosts webinars like this one focused on the most pressing LSLR challenges and topics, often featuring utility panelists. Browse the LSLR Collaborative’s webinar series for insights relevant to your municipal LSLR programs.

Webinar Recording

Jack Travis

Jack is the Water Law Fellow at EPIC. He recently graduated from NYU School of Law with a JD. As a student, he interned at EPIC, NRDC, and the Office of the New York Attorney General and was the digital executive editor of the Review of Law and Social Change. Jack previously worked as a healthcare technology project manager and consultant. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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