Water Woes in Detroit, Michigan

Eric and I visited Detroit last August.  Having toured the blighted neighborhoods, urban meadows and abandoned business districts of this city, I wanted to keep tabs on Detroit and its travels through bankruptcy procedures.

Delinquent water customers are being treated differently in Detroit.  Businesses owing thousands of dollars on their city water bills have running water.  Residents who owe the Water Department and Sewage Department money have their water shut off.

Photo from www.detroitdebtmoritorium.org

Seeing how the city treats delinquent water customers, residents reacted.  They are demonstrating and signing petitions to put pressure on the Water and Sewage Department to restore their water services.

Help for Detroit residents is on the way....  A convoy of Canadians drove to Detroit with hundreds of gallons of water for residents in need.  The Detroit Water Project is hosting a website for anyone who wants to help water strapped Detroiters.  Donors can pay delinquent water bills online.  Residents appreciate this assistance from strangers.

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Everything in Detroit has multiple layers.  Detroit has been selling water from Lake Huron to area communities for years.  Long time customer, City of Flint along with Genesee County plan to build a water pipeline to get water directly from the lake, cutting Detroit out as a water supplier.  Other counties are interested in joining the upstart project.

Detroit is looking at dwindling water revenues at a time where every income stream is counted on to help the city during bankruptcy.  The alternate water piping system will impact revenues in the near and distant future.