DETROIT – Detroit City Council Member Raquel Castañeda-López joined the Detroit People’s Water Board Coalition today for a press conference aimed at stopping water shut offs for thousands of Detroit families. The statewide group and the Council Member want residents to be allowed to use the Water Affordability Plan to keep their water on and keep the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) operating.
“When many families try in good faith to pay but find it nearly impossible, when those who later enter into payment assistance plans again find themselves falling behind, it’s clear the issue is not residents’ refusal to pay; the problem lies in our rate system,” said Detroit City Council Member Raquel Castañeda-López. “We need an approach that helps prevent residents from falling behind, rather than waiting to react until they’re in danger of shut-off. A true water-affordability plan would consider an individual’s income and their ability to pay, not just rates.”
Until last Wednesday, members of the Coalition had been working for several weeks with the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP) working group. Their goal was to get the regional water authority to understand the reality of families facing shut offs and the household and public health consequences that result from this. But they left the GLWA frustrated with the Authority’s staunch refusal to implement a long-term solution through the Water Affordability Plan instead of another meager assistance program. Nor would the WRAP working group allow Coalition members to remain active participants unless they signed the assistance agreement along with the direct service provider organizations.
“What the GLWA and the Mayor propose is more short-term assistance to families in danger of having their water shutoff. If assistance worked the DWSD wouldn’t be handing out water shut off notices to tens of thousands across Detroit,” said Sylvia Orduño of Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and the Detroit People’s Water Board Coalition. “The solution to the crisis can’t be to once again start cutting tens of thousands of families off from the water they need to live. The solution can’t be to increase the water shutoff contract to Homrich Wrecking by $1 million so they can shut off more than 800 families per day. People with low incomes need to be able to pay based on income. They could use the Water Affordability Plan to do that. It’s a win-win. Families have the water they need to survive, and revenue continues to flow to the water system.”
People’s Water Board members distributed a one-page summary of the Water Affordability Plan approved by Detroit City Council in 2006. The People’s Water Board also announced at the press conference that State Representatives Stephanie Chang, Detroit and Sheldon Neely, Flint, are sponsoring a legislative hearing on water affordability and safety. The hearing is scheduled for June 3, 10:00 a.m. in Lansing at the Capitol.
About Post Author
