How Fox Point compares
Fox Point is supplied by the North Shore Water Commission, along with Whitefish Bay and Glendale — the same treated Lake Michigan water with the same orthophosphate corrosion control. Shorewood, despite being next door, buys its water from Milwaukee Water Works instead. All of them fall under the same 2037 federal deadline.
The steps below are identical wherever you are in the North Shore: check the inventory, look at the pipe, test the water, understand who pays for which half.
We’re not publishing a percentage for Fox Point
A figure we inherited for Fox Point turned out to be Whitefish Bay’s number copied across. Rather than repeat a statistic we can’t stand behind, we’ve left it out. Check the Village of Fox Point’s Lead Service Line Inventory for your own address — that answers the only question that actually affects you.
The 2037 deadline applies here
The EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements requires every lead service line in the country to be replaced by 1 January 2037. Fox Point is working to a phased schedule: inventory and corrosion control through 2025, highest-risk public lines near schools and daycare centres from 2025, joint public/private excavations from 2028, and everything remaining by 2037.
If your street is not high-priority, that can mean waiting into the 2030s.
The split that catches people out
| Segment | Who replaces it |
|---|---|
| Main to curb stop | Village of Fox Point — no cost to you |
| Curb stop to your meter | You — typically $6,000–$10,000 |
When the village says it is replacing your lead line, that usually means the half in the street. The half under your garden is yours to arrange and pay for — though DNR loans, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants and village subsidies for low-income residents can all reduce it, and a subsidy is not taxable income.
What to do this week
- Look up your address on the Village of Fox Point Lead Service Line Inventory.
- Scratch the pipe where it enters your basement. Dull grey and soft means lead; reddish means copper.
- Get a first-draw lab test — water that has stood six hours. Above 10 ppb is the EPA action level; above 5 ppb warrants action now.
- Flush the cold tap 30–60 seconds before drinking, and never cook or make up formula with hot water.
- Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 — the standard that actually covers lead reduction.
Read the full guide — testing, costs, funding and timelines
Where filtration fits
Whole-house filtration is not a substitute for replacing a lead service line. Replacement is the permanent fix and we won’t pretend otherwise.
What it does is cover the years in between, at every tap rather than one. If lead is your concern, tell us — it changes which model and cartridge we’d recommend, and we’ll give you the NSF/ANSI 53 certification for that specific filter in writing.