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Detroit, Michigan: Water Cut Offs

According to the Detroit Water and Sewage Department (DWSD), between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2002, the utility cut off water to 40,752 residences in the Detroit area affecting 15% of DWSD customers. Senior citizens, people with disabilities, women with young children, and ex-welfare recipients are the most common victims of the cut-offs. When cut-offs are threatened, the state emergency relief program can offer help up to a $175 limit. As water rates continue to rise, the cut-offs have continued.

Such water cut-offs violate the basic right of residents and demean the human right to water.

Michigan Legal Services, Legal Aid and Defenders, and the Michigan Poverty Law Center have continuously called for a moratorium on the water cut-offs in the city and are working to ensure an affordable plan that enables low-income residents to access water.

In the News:
2005
January 16: Detroit cuts will change life for residents, workers 

2003
August 11: Water Dept. workers struggle to keep jobs - denounce privatization schemes
August: Who Controls the Spigot?
February 4: Water wars rage in Detroit and South Africa
Blacks oppose water privatization, from Detroit to South Africa
January 15: Hearing set on utility shutoffs

2002
December 24: Detroiters Demand Halt To DTE Utility Cut-Offs; Water Department Next Target
October 10: Accusations flow at a hearing on Detroit's water
September 3: Users circumvent city water shutoffs
September 3: Unpaid water bills in Detroit top $59 million
July 12: Millions of poor US families face utility shutoffs

1998
December 5: Utility shutoff leads to child's death in Detroit house fire

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