Water Shut-offs Delayed, But Angry Residents Persist with Lawsuit

It’s been nearly four months since Detroit’s water department began cutting off residents’ water supply for unpaid bills. And residents are only growing more frustrated each day their taps don’t flow.  

The issue has moved beyond Detroit streets, where angry residents marched and blocked city trucks from carrying out the shutoffs, to a national stage, The Detroit News reports.

Among those joining in the chorus of protest are officials with the United Nations, who called water access a basic human right, and celebrities like the singer Cher. Civil disobedience has resulted in arrests, among them Ecumenial Theological Seminary professor Jim Perkinson, who was arrested twice for blocking city trucks.

“Fifteen days makes a difference for people facing shut-offs, but what equally matters is what happens from here,” Perkinson said. “There can be a more humane way of sorting out those who generally need help.”

Water service has so far been interrupted in about 17,000 households in the urban area as the city attempts to clear an estimated $91 million owed by 89,000 customers. Detroit had more than 100,000 water accounts and thousands of them were restored after getting on a payment program or paying the outstanding bills.

“We are pausing to give an opportunity to customers who have trouble paying their bills to come in and make arrangements with us,” Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) spokesman Bill Johnson told The Detroit News. “We want to make sure we haven’t missed any truly needy people.”

A group of Detroit residents on Monday filed a lawsuit against the water department, The Detroit News reports.  Alice Jennings, the plaintiff’s attorney,  said that although the department has decided on a 15-day delay in further cut-offs, her clients won’t reconsider legal action.

“What the department did is not adequate,” Jennings told the The Detroit News Monday.

Jennings called the shut-offs a health crisis and said there should have been a door-to-door evaluation to determine if residents could pay their overdue bills before service was curtailed.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, who is presiding over Detroit’s historic bankruptcy proceeding, said that the cut-offs are giving the city a bad reputation.

During the first two weeks of July, 2,000 residents had their water supply cut off.

DWSD Deputy Director Darryl Latimer said that during the 15-day grace period, the department will be communicating with residents about payment options and assistance.

“We want to ensure everyone has access to water, that they’re current or on their way to getting current on any overdue amounts,” Latimer said.

The cutoffs affect residents who are more than 60 days late or $150 behind on bill payments.

The department is going to work with grassroots organizations and area clergy to get the word out to residents about how they can pay outstanding bills.  

Bills can be paid over a 36-month period with various payment plans offered by the water department. One of the options is the new  $1 million program Detroit Residential Water Assistance Program, developed to assist residents who can’t afford to pay their bills.