WAYNE, Mich. (WXYZ) — The city of Wayne is on track to become one of the first communities in Michigan to complete its lead water service line replacements, with the project expected to finish by the end of the year.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
After exceeding action levels during routine testing in 2023, Wayne officials launched an aggressive replacement program that has already addressed hundreds of potentially hazardous water lines.
"We were doing our routine lead testing that EGLE requires us to do and we exceeded the action level and when we exceeded the action level, we knew that we had to start doing something," said David Schmidt, Wayne's assistant public works director.
The city initially identified about 400 lead service lines for replacement, but that number more than doubled as workers began inspecting homes more thoroughly.
"So at this point, we've replaced 879 lines since 2023 and on our known lead list, we believe we have about 60 left," Schmidt said.
Video extra: Inside the replacement of lead services lines in Wayne
Each service line replacement costs approximately $8,000, with the city securing grants and nearly $5 million in state funding from the 2023 budget to finance the project.
The replacements involve removing old lead pipes that can pose serious health risks.
"The lead can leach back into the water, which can be toxic to anybody: children, pregnant women," Schmidt said.
For longtime residents like Janet Keehr, who has lived in her Wayne home for 50 years, the replacements are long overdue.
"Hopefully, I'm in that 60," Keehr said, referring to the remaining homes awaiting replacement.
"Is it encouraging knowing the city is replacing these lead lines?" reporter Randy Wimbley asked.
"Yes. It helps a lot," Keehr said. "I've been here 50 years. It's time they do it."
Keehr claims to have seen the impact of lead in water firsthand through her brother who lived in Flint during that city's water crisis.
"He's got asthma and really bad anxiety," Keehr said. "He has full oxygen. He can't walk down to 7/11 without his oxygen and he's 63 years old."
Michigan revised its Lead and Copper Rule in 2018, mandating all lead lines be replaced by 2041, following the Flint water crisis. Wayne's accelerated timeline puts the city well ahead of that requirement.
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