This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience while browsing it. By clicking 'Got It' you're accepting these terms.
Most recent
Trending
The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!
Though officials say they aren't backing down to pressure from protesters and other activists, Detroit announced Monday morning that it will suspend its water shutoffs for 15 days.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) turned off water service on about 17,000 customers since March, according to The Detroit News.
“This is a pause. This is not a moratorium,” department spokesman Bill Johnson told the publication. “We are pausing to give an opportunity to customers who have trouble paying their bills to come in and make arrangements with us. We want to make sure we haven’t missed any truly needy people.”
Others don't buy that, and are convinced that pressure from the United Nations, the Detroit Water Brigade, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and others played a role in the suspension.
Maybe the protests were heard: Water shutoffs in Detroit have been suspended for 15 days. http://t.co/3Bh9dqKa2X
— Diocese of Michigan (@EpiscopalMI) July 21, 2014
Detroit halts water cut off for two weeks! Activism works. A just future is possible.
— Maude Barlow (@MaudeBarlow) July 21, 2014
They stopped the water shut offs in Detroit for 15 days. If you were in any way a part of this struggle. You know how big of a feat this is
— Slim (@just_tyree) July 21, 2014
About 89,000 customers owe about $91 million to the department, Johnson said. More than 2,000 residential accounts had service cut off in the first two weeks of this month.
"Looking forward, we call on the DWSD to indefinitely suspend all residential shutoffs, restore service to those families already turned off, and immediately begin work to implement an income-based Water Affordability Plan," the Detroit Water Brigade said in a statement. "The DWSD should also hold a week-long public event at Cobo Hall, with extended hours for working people, to give Detroiters an opportunity to enter into flexible payment plans based upon their ability to pay."
The announcement came as some residents filed a complaint in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit. Part of their complaint is that city came down on low-income residents while not shutting off past-due commercial accounts, Bloomberg reported.
“Water service to private residences is the most basic and essential utility service, and is necessary for the health and safety of the residents,” the filing states.
Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, says the suspension is positive news, but should be followed up with an evaluation of how DWSD views access to water.
“We are glad the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has announced it will suspend water shutoffs for 15 days to allow residents to demonstrate their inability to pay," she said in a statement. "But this is only a small step toward rectifying the problem in Detroit.
“DWSD must take this time to fundamentally reconsider its use of draconian water shutoffs as a means of strong-arming residents who cannot afford to pay their water bills. It must also turn back on the water of those households that have had their water service shutoff."
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Gretchen Goldman
The Independent Particulate Matter Review Panel has released their consensus recommendations to the EPA administrator on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter. The group of 20 independent experts, that were disbanded by Administrator Wheeler last October and reconvened last week, hosted by the Union of Concerned Scientists, has now made clear that the current particulate pollution standards don't protect public health and welfare.
55 Elephants Have Died in 2 Months From Unprecedented Zimbabwe Drought, Wildlife Agency Says
The unprecedented drought that has caused a water crisis in Zimbabwe has now claimed the life of at least 55 elephants since September, according to a wildlife spokesman, as CNN reported.
By John C. Cannon
Life is reshuffling itself at an unsettling clip across Earth's surface and in its oceans, a new study has found.
The country's largest fossil fuel company goes on trial today to face charges that it lied to investors about the safety of its assets in the face of the climate crisis and potential legislation to fight it, as the AP reported.
Trending
El Niños are getting stronger due to climate change, according to a new study in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
By Julia Ries
- Antibiotic resistance has doubled in the last 20 years.
- Additionally a new study found one patient developed resistance to a last resort antibiotic in a matter of weeks.
- Health experts say antibiotic prescriptions should only be given when absolutely necessary in order to avoid growing resistance.
Over the past decade, antibiotic resistance has emerged as one of the greatest public health threats.
Trending
Corazón Latino, a Nonprofit That Helps Urban Residents Spend More Time in Nature
There are hundreds of millions of acres of public land in the U.S., but not everyone has had the chance to hike in a national forest or picnic in a state park.
By Simon Evans
Renewable sources of electricity are set for rapid growth over the next five years, which could see them match the output of the world's coal-fired power stations for the first time ever.