A nagging question: What to do about people without water?
On the one hand, getting your water service shut off by the city is a bad thing.
On the other hand, the city can’t afford to give away that service for free.
It’s alarming that some 30 percent of our households and businesses have failed to keep up with their bills and are faced with shutoffs. About 100 households and businesses have not only had their service turned off, they also failed to have it turned back on.
That may create a serious health hazard in the community, especially with the city ready to begin another round of shutoffs.
Hamtramck is not alone in this issue. Detroit is also poised to cut off water service to tens of thousands of residents because of overdue water bills.
The source for this tragedy has been the economic collapse since 2008. Sure there have been some signs of improvement, economic-wise, but many have been left behind.
So the nagging question is: What are we going to do about folks who have no water service?
The problem is far too big for small cities like Hamtramck to shoulder. But it’s clear that as a society we can’t have people without access to water.
And it looks like asking the state to step in will be useless since legislators can’t even come to an agreement on how to fix our crumbling roads.
On the local level, it’s going to come down to neighbors helping neighbors. If you know someone who has been cut off from water service, lend a hand, offer to fill containers of water, let them use your shower and so on.
Yes, that’s a big imposition, but this appears to be desperate days ahead for some. Turning a blind eye is not an option.
4 Responses to A nagging question: What to do about people without water?
Leave a Reply
Neighbor
June 18, 2015 at 3:35 pm
Dear City,
1. Turn water on
2. Put unpaid water charges on tax bill
3. Take the house for unpaid taxes
You can do it, can’t you?
moh
June 26, 2015 at 7:26 pm
I remember when we use to fetch the water from the well and carry them all the way to house for drink and general use…..we treated water as important as $$ca$h.
Having the water run directly to your house it’s a blessing that people who were born into it can not understand until losing it.
The highest amount of the water bill is for the Sewerage … which you could always use for Free and the city will not shut it down…. there for just dig a well and get free water supply for life….
until the city figures a way to shut your sewerage off and than and only than you will be forced to install a septic systems
Kim Hunter
June 30, 2015 at 4:09 pm
Philly is working on a water affordability plan. Detroit City Council created one back in 1996. Families pay based on their income. Much research shows you get more money when the bills are structured on income.
Jim
July 1, 2015 at 2:44 pm
moh…
In no way do you want to drill a hole in a city like this, the water table is so full of contaminates, that it takes the water department most of its time, filtering out that stuff…