Detroit Halves 'At Risk' Water Households, But Many Still Struggle

Around 18,000 Detroit households were vulnerable to water service shutoffs earlier this year, but in recent weeks that number has been cut in half, water officials say.

Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown provided an update on shutoffs in late May to the Detroit city council, according to The Detroit News.

During a three-week period, he said, “we went from 18,000 eligible for shut-off to 9,000 because people got into payment plans to avoid being shut off.”

The water department started disconnecting some accounts in April. When that effort began, 18,000 households were “at risk” of shutoffs, the report said. Residents avoided shutoffs if they contacted the department, however, to set up an assistance or payment plan.

The water department began disconnecting some accounts last month for customers who had received a final 10-day notice. At the time, 17,995 households were at risk of having their water turned off. But residents who contacted the department prior to their scheduled shut-offs to make a payment or enter into an assistance plan were able to avoid it.

“As long as you come in and ask for assistance, you won’t get shut-off,” Brown said, per the report. “We are in the business of expanding our customer base, not cutting people off. We want every single customer to having a path to having water.”

What do the city’s assistance policies look like? The Detroit News provided some background:

In March 2015, Detroit launched its Water Residential Assistance Program, or WRAP, a regional assistance fund created as part of the Great Lakes Water Authority forged through Detroit’s bankruptcy. WRAP is designed to help qualifying customers in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties who are at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level — which equates to $36,450 for a family of four — by covering one-third of the cost of their average monthly bill and freezing overdue amounts.

Nearly 6,000 Detroit households are enrolled in WRAP, and the retention rate is 90 percent, the report said, citing Brown.

WRAP has come under criticism from local activists, who say it is failing to serve all residents, according to Michigan Radio.

In 2014, United Nations officials called out Detroit for human rights violations after the city shut off water service for thousands of residents who failed to pay their bills.

Catarina de Albuquerque, a United Nations expert on human rights and water, shared her concerns in a United Nations statement.

“Disconnections due to non-payment are only permissible if it can be shown that the resident is able to pay but is not paying. In other words, when there is genuine inability to pay, human rights simply forbids disconnections,” she said.

For similar stories visit Water Online’s Consumer Outreach Solutions Center.