Urge Governor Whitmer to Help Detroit Restore Water to Low Income Families More Quickly

By MUUSJN on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020

Call or Email Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Call: 517-335-7858 (constituent services)

Click HERE to send an email

TELL HER: Make Sure Detroit Families Have Access to Water for Drinking, Bathing & Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus

(World Water Lobbying Day in Lansing was cancelled due to the Coronavirus threat. But the Fight Goes On!)

Everyone in Michigan must have access to safe, affordable drinking water service and sanitation to combat the spread of diseases including COVID 19, coronavirus.

On February 28th, members of the People’s Water Board (including MUUSJN) signed a petition/letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer urging her to call for a moratorium of water shutoffs, to restore water service to all residents where water has been turned off and to implement an income based water affordability plan as a longer term solution to stopping the spread of water related diseases which spread when households are deprived of water. Various sources indicate there are 9,500 households without water in Detroit. Low income people in other Michigan communities also have no water due to inability to pay their water bills.

On March 9th, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued one of several declarations in the middle of the coronavirus crisis that called for turning the water back on in the City of Detroit. WE THANK GOVERNOR WHITMER FOR THIS PRACTICAL, HUMANE RESPONSE. On March 11th the City invited people to call 313-386-9727 to request that their water be turned back on.

PROBLEM SOLVED? NOT AT ALL!

  • The City has a conservative estimate of 2,800 homes that need their water restored. Water activists believe the number is closer to 9,500 homes. As of March 14th, only 73 homes (about 18 homes per day) have had their water turned back on.
  • Other than using a flyer and press announcements, it not clear how the people who need water are being notified by the city. The “Water Restart Plan” flyer identifies people as eligible “if their water service was recently interrupted due to non-payment” or was given a notice “you are at risk of service interruption”. This leaves a large number of people who’ve had their water turned off for months and even years.
  • At Detroit’s current rates of water restoration, it could take almost 1.5 years — if workers toiled seven days a week — to turn the water back on in all Detroit households.
  • We don’t have that much time to allow people to begin washing their hands and preventing the spread of coronavirus! On March 14th, the Detroit Free Press reported that a teacher at Osborn HIgh School (with 800 students & staff) was confirmed to have the coronavirus. This can’t wait!

CALL ON THE GOVERNOR TO TAKE ACTION

The Peoples’ Water Board recently sent a LETTER to the Governor that makes several recommendations for addressing the Detroit water/coronavirus crisis:

  1. In line with the Governor’s declared State of Emergency, deploy federal and state resources to address plumbing problems and help more widely distribute information about water restoration;
  2. Help set up a system of water stations in Detroit where residents can get gallon jugs of water;
  3. At these stations, provide hand sanitizers, disinfectants and paper towels to help with cleaning;
  4. Direct the Michigan Department of Human Services to expand benefits of the State Emergency Relief (SER) program to include more resources, less restrictions and quicker responses; and
  5. Extend the moratorium on shutoffs indefinitely until the Detroit Water and Sewer Department can confirm it has reached EVERY disconnected home;
  6. Ban future shutoffs on vulnerable households, e.g., those with infants, children, pregnant women, elders and persons with disabilities; and
  7. Enact a statewide, low income based water affordability plan based on a household’s ability to pay.

CALL OR EMAIL THE GOVERNOR

517-335-7858 (constituent services)

Click HERE to send an email.

TALKING POINTS:

  1. Coronavirus has created a health and economic crisis for Michigan, Detroit & other communities.
  2. People without water aren’t able to flush toilets, clean their homes or wash their hands.
  3. The City needs to more effectively respond to the Governor’s emergency declaration of a moratorium on water shutoffs and that water be restored for ALL of Detroit’s people.
  4. The Governor is urged to address recommendations from the People’s Water Board.
  5. Thank the Governor for her leadership.

We’re all in this together!

Water justice is one the priorities of the Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network. This statewide interfaith social justice network also works for women’s and LGBTQ rights, racial justice, immigration and environmental justice, gun violence prevention and election reform.


Category: News |