For WUWM's Earth Week series, we're focusing on the disproportionate impact of climate change on communities of color. In Milwaukee, one of these impacts is the increasing burden of erratic weather on infrastructure — which is compounded further by lead pipes and the lead crisis at Milwaukee Public Schools.
Richard Diaz is a founding member of the Milwaukee Coalition on Lead Emergency. He’s also water infrastructure field manager with BlueGreen Alliance, an organization that brings together labor unions and environmental groups to work towards an economy that’s sustainable for both people and the planet. Diaz joins WUWM Digital Producer Graham Thomas to learn more about the relationship between infrastructure and environmental justice in Milwaukee.
"The extreme weather events that have been happening across the country impact all Americans, and the most vulnerable populations — those being people of color and also those who are low income — just don't have the resources to protect themselves," Diaz says.
From pipes bursting due to heavy precipitation, as Milwaukee's East Side experienced this winter, to potential climate migration to the area, Diaz says that both Milwaukee residents and city government lack the funds to meet these issues head-on. When it comes to Milwaukee's Lead Service Line Replacement Program, however, he says the city has made great strides, guided by Milwaukee Water Works' Equity Prioritization Plan.
"We are in a lot different boat than we were when the program began less than 10 years ago," he says. "Milwaukee has rapidly increased its pace of replacement from doing about 1,200 lead service lines in in a single construction season in 2023, to 2024 jumping by about 1,000 — which is just huge progress."
As the city continues lead remediation efforts with limited resources, Diaz says that investing in high-road, union contractors for infrastructure projects can save the city money and create well-paying jobs in the long-run.
"I'd argue none of the contractors performing lead abatement work at a large scale are signatory to any union and are literally just taking people off the street to to make this happen," he says. "This low bar for contracting in the lead abatement space is is really going to cost the city more."
