Detroit Suspends Water Shutoff Policy To Save Reputation
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
The backlash against Detroit's policy of cutting off water service for delinquent customers has prompted the city to suspend the shutoffs.
The temporary suspension marks "the latest response to a controversy that has prompted large protests and caught the attention of the judge overseeing the city's bankruptcy," the Associated Press reported.
The public, celebrities, United Nations experts, and at least one judge have sounded off against Detroit's shutoff policy, which left thousands of customers without water service in recent months.
Pressure from Judge Steven Rhodes, who is overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy, tipped the scales. Rhodes had told city officials that the shutoff program gives Detroit "a bad reputation in the eyes of the world," the USA Today paraphrased. "He used his courtroom to demand that Detroit better address the problem."
The suspension will last 15 days, during which city officials will try to educate ratepayers about how to address delinquency situations, according to the AP. Water department Deputy Director Darryl Latimer that the city "does not want to put its customers out of service," the report said.
The shutoff policy hit a nerve with the public, and many people gathered to protest it. "Hundreds of demonstrators gathered [in Detroit last week] to protest water being cut off from city residents with overdue bills," Michigan Live reported, noting that Mark Ruffalo, the actor, attended.
"The water department stopped service to about 7,200 homes and businesses in June, compared to 1,570 in the same month last year. Water was restored to 43 percent after customers paid or worked out payment plans, though thousands more have been affected since last fall," the AP reported.
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