Civic IQ Research · Data brief
Lead service line replacement came up 375 times in public meetings in 30 days
Civic IQ Research · Published October 9, 2026 · Meetings held September 9 to October 8, 2026
Between September 9 and October 8, 2026, lead service line replacement came up 375 times in the public meetings of U.S. state and local agencies, across 39 states and Washington, D.C. Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan accounted for nearly half. Seven in ten items were still at the planning stage, before any construction contract: inventories, budgets, designs and loan applications. Where a meeting named a funding source, it was most often a state revolving fund or other state loan.
- Meeting items
- 375
- Distinct agenda and minutes items on drinking-water lead lines, Sept. 9 to Oct. 8, 2026.
- States
- 39 + D.C.
- States with at least one item, plus Washington, D.C.
- At the planning stage
- 71%
- 267 of 375 items came before any construction contract.
- Median project
- $1.0M
- Median stated cost of 34 replacement or inventory projects with a dollar figure.
Key findings
What the meeting record shows
- 1
The work is national, but four Great Lakes states lead it
Lead service line items came up in 39 states and Washington, D.C. Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan produced 180 of the 375, or 48%.
- 2
Seven in ten items are planning, not buying
267 items were at the planning stage: budgets, designs, inventories and loan applications, with no construction contract yet. For a vendor, that is the period before a scope is written.
- 3
Inventories are still a fifth of the conversation
79 items concerned finding out where lead lines are. Several records tie this work to the November 1, 2027 compliance date of the federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements.
- 4
State loans carry most of the cost
97 of the 187 items that named a funding source named a state revolving fund or other state loan, several with partial principal forgiveness. Federal grants appeared in 14 and bonds in 10.
- 5
The typical project is about $1 million
The median stated cost of a replacement or inventory project was $1.0 million, the median state loan or grant $2.0 million and the median construction or engineering contract $263,750.
- 6
The RFP comes months after the first meeting
In nine projects we could trace from first meeting item to published solicitation, the median gap was 199 days, about six and a half months.
By state
Four Great Lakes states account for nearly half
Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan produced 180 of the 375 items. New Jersey and New York follow.
- Illinois55
- Wisconsin45
- Minnesota43
- Michigan37
- New Jersey24
- New York18
- Texas14
- Massachusetts10
- North Carolina10
Stage
Most of the work is still being planned
267 of 375 items were at the planning stage: inventories, budgets, engineering and loan applications, with no construction contract yet.
- Planning267
- Work under way55
- Contract award40
- Out to bid9
- Completed4
Funding
State loans carry most of the cost
Of the 187 items that named a funding source, 97 named a state revolving fund or other state loan. Federal grants appeared in 14.
- State revolving fund or loan97
- Water rates or local budget33
- State grant20
- Federal grant14
- Bonds10
- ARPA2
Size
What a typical item is worth
- Replacement or inventory project
- $1,000,000
- Median of 34 stated amounts
- State loan or grant
- $2,027,115
- Median of 30 stated amounts
- Contract (construction or engineering)
- $263,750
- Median of 40 stated amounts
Warning time
From the meeting to the RFP: a median of 199 days
In nine cases we could tie a solicitation to the first public meeting item about the same project. The gap ran from 20 to 414 days. These are examples, not a national average: most RFP records carry no meeting link, and about half carry no publish date.
| Agency | Meeting | Solicitation | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borough of Park RidgeNew Jersey | Apr 28, 2026Phase 1 bond ordinance introduced; bid package approved | May 18, 2026Lead Service Line Replacements, Phase 1 bid | 20 |
| City of LakewoodOhio | Nov 24, 2025Phase 1 citywide replacement, about 550 lines, discussed | Feb 25, 20262026 Citywide Lead Service Line Replacement Project | 93 |
| City of OxfordNorth Carolina | Apr 7, 2026State funding accepted for a service line inventory | Jul 23, 2026Lead Service Line Inventory professional services RFQ | 107 |
| City of Blue SpringsMissouri | Nov 17, 2025Inventory grant application approved | Apr 23, 2026Construction administration RFQ for the inventory | 157 |
| City of FremontNebraska | Sep 30, 2025Replacement project with state revolving fund financing | Apr 17, 2026Replacement project consultant services RFP | 199 |
| City of BayonneNew Jersey | Sep 17, 2025State infrastructure bank financing application for Phase II | May 6, 2026Lead Service Line Replacement Phase 2, Contract 1 bid | 231 |
| City of Blue SpringsMissouri | Nov 17, 2025Inventory grant application approved | Sep 22, 2026Lead service line inventory fieldwork, Phase A bid | 309 |
| City of FremontNebraska | Sep 30, 2025Replacement project with state revolving fund financing | Sep 21, 2026Replacement construction bid (SRF project) | 356 |
| City of KewaneeIllinois | Aug 11, 2025$630,000 state CLEAR-Win grant for replacements discussed | Sep 29, 2026Private-side replacement and plumbing inspection services | 414 |
From the record
What these items look like
A sample of named items from the 30 days, each checked against the agency's own record.
| Agency | Meeting | What was on the agenda |
|---|---|---|
| City of ProvidenceRhode Island | Sept. 30 | Committee took up a $26.2 million fourth funding tranche for accelerated public- and private-side replacement: 0% interest over 20 years with 49% principal forgiveness. |
| Pittsburgh WaterPennsylvania | Sept. 25 | Board scheduled a resolution to apply to PENNVEST for up to $19 million for the 2027 Neighborhood Lead Service Line Replacement Project. |
| Village of BerkeleyIllinois | Oct. 6 | Ordinance authorizing a 30-year state loan for replacements in one census tract, with the project cost stated at $3,992,000. |
| Village of KimberlyWisconsin | Sept. 14 | Planned a $1,440,000 project to replace public and private lead lines village-wide; applied for state loan funding, with results expected in December. |
| City of TexarkanaTexas | Sept. 14 | A $720,025 contract for a predictive lead service line model, GIS work and field checks ahead of the federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. |
| City of IvanhoeMinnesota | Sept. 14 | Approved plans and authorized bidding for a replacement project estimated at $300,000, pending state funding, with construction planned for May 2027. |
| Village of FarwellMichigan | Oct. 5 | Considered a $158,500 engineering proposal for its FY27 state-revolving-fund replacement project. |
| City of OconomowocWisconsin | Oct. 6 | Budget amendment adding $100,000 to the 2026 replacement budget after a lead action level exceedance. |
| DC WaterDistrict of Columbia | Sept. 17 | Asked a board committee to advance a revised rule for its House by House lead pipe replacement assistance program, targeting a January 2027 start. |
Methodology
How we counted
- Source
- Civic IQ's index of agendas, minutes and board packets published by U.S. state, local and utility agencies. We queried it state by state on October 9, 2026 for lead service lines, lead pipes and the Lead and Copper Rule.
- Window
- Meetings held September 9 to October 8, 2026. Where a record's own title gave a different meeting date from our index, we used the record's date. For every state where our query hit its row limit, we confirmed the results reached back before September 9, so no state was cut short.
- Reading
- Each of the 2,690 records returned was read and classified with AI assistance: whether it concerns lead lines in a drinking-water system, its meeting date, stage, scope, any stated dollar amount and any funding source. Named examples were checked against the source records.
- Counting
- The unit is a meeting item: one agenda or minutes entry. The same record indexed twice counts once (143 removed); a project heard at committee and then at council counts twice, since those are two meetings. Federal and non-U.S. records, and records about lead paint or other topics, are excluded.
- Stages
- Planning means no construction contract yet: inventories, budgets, design, loan or grant applications and ordinances. Out to bid, contract award, work under way and completed follow the contract.
- Dollar figures
- As stated in the record, not audited. Medians only, counting each distinct amount once per state. Multi-year program totals, statewide figures and stray fragments such as unit prices are excluded.
- Meeting to RFP
- For lead service line solicitations published July 2025 to October 2026, we searched the same agency's meetings from the prior 500 days and kept a pair only when the meeting concerned the same project. Nine pairs met that test.
What these numbers cannot tell you
- Agencies that do not publish minutes, or that we do not index, are missing, so these counts are a floor.
- A meeting item shows intent, not a purchase. Some planned work will be delayed or never bought.
- Most records in our index do not name the agency in a structured field, so we report items rather than agencies. At least 116 distinct agencies are named.
- A few records are filed under the wrong agency or state. We removed the two we could identify.
- About half of solicitation records carry no publish date, so we do not estimate how many of these items will become RFPs.
Cite this report
Civic IQ, "Lead Service Line Replacement: Public Meeting Data, October 2026." Published October 9, 2026. civiciq.com/research/lead-service-line-replacement-2026
The aggregate tables are free to reuse with credit under CC BY 4.0: download the CSV.
FAQ
Questions about this report
- How many local governments are working on lead service line replacement right now?
- In the 30 days from September 9 to October 8, 2026, Civic IQ found 375 lead service line items in the public meetings of state and local agencies, in 39 states and Washington, D.C. At least 116 distinct agencies are named; the true number is higher because most records do not name the agency in a structured field.
- Which states have the most lead service line activity?
- Illinois (55 items), Wisconsin (45), Minnesota (43) and Michigan (37) together accounted for 180 of the 375 items, nearly half. New Jersey (24) and New York (18) were next.
- How are cities paying for lead service line replacement?
- Of the 187 meeting items that named a funding source, 97 named a state revolving fund or other state loan, often with partial principal forgiveness. Water rates or local budgets appeared in 33 items, state grants in 20 and federal grants in 14.
- How long after a council discussion does a lead service line RFP come out?
- In nine cases where Civic IQ could tie a solicitation to the first public meeting item about the same project, the gap ran from 20 to 414 days, with a median of 199 days, or about six and a half months. These are examples rather than a national average.
- How big is a typical lead service line project?
- Among items that stated a dollar figure, the median replacement or inventory project was $1.0 million (34 projects), the median state loan or grant was $2.0 million (30), and the median construction or engineering contract was $263,750 (40).
- Where does this data come from?
- From Civic IQ's index of agendas, minutes and board packets that U.S. state, local and utility agencies publish. Each record was read and classified, duplicates were removed, and named examples were checked against the source. The methodology section on this page has the details, and the aggregate tables can be downloaded as a CSV.