UN Officials Echo Pleas to Restore Water Service in Detroit

By Lynna Kaucheck

United Nations (UN) representatives Catarina de Albuquerque (left) and Leilani Farha (right) answer questions from local residents during a UN Fact-Finding Detroit Town Hall Meeting.

This past weekend, representatives from the United Nations visited Detroit to witness first-hand the repercussions of the city’s on-going water crisis. Needless to say, they were shocked, as I have been too, despite my many years fighting for water justice in the Motor City.

Ten years ago, when I first started working to preserve the right of Detroiters to safe, clean, affordable water, I never imagined the trajectory that work would take. Quite frankly, some of the politicking that has occurred in those areas over the past decade I couldn’t have anticipated in my wildest dreams.

After sitting under the thumb of a federal judge for 35 years, in March of 2013, the city of Detroit regained oversight of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). That same month, Governor Rick Snyder sent emergency manager (EM) Kevyn Orr to Detroit to run the city, foregoing in the process, democracy and citizen participation. A few months later, the city declared bankruptcy and the threat of privatizing the DWSD became very real. This past March, after talks with suburban entities over a regional water authority broke down, Orr announced a plan to privatize the DWSD, issuing a request for information from interested parties. Within hours, the DWSD announced plans to pursue an aggressive shut-off plan in the city with a goal of denying water to 1,500 – 3,000 residences a week.

Of course, misinformation about the shutoffs abounded. This wasn’t simply a case of people opting not to pay their water bills. Some 40 percent of the city lives in poverty, victims of decades of misplaced civic priorities and policies that put profits ahead of people.

When democracy doesn’t exist, when those in charge aren’t accountable to the public, traditional organizing becomes really difficult. So, we joined forces with our allies at the People’s Water Board, and we called for reinforcements. This past May, we brought Maude Barlow, Food & Water Watch board chair and the national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, to Detroit to talk to the public about privatization and water affordability. Like us, she was shocked by the callousness of the water department and its aggressive shut-off plan. Maude also suggested that we ask the United Nations to investigate violations to the human right to water and sanitation.

The United Nations heard our cry for help and filed a complaint with the United States Government for violating the human right to water and sanitation in Detroit. Together with the Council of Canadians, we elevated the crisis in the Detroit to the international stage. Our friends at Net Roots Nation joined the cause too, devoting their national conference in Detroit to the mission of lending support to the fight, taking to the streets to ask that water service be restored to Detroit residents. As a result of all the organizing, combined with a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of affected residents, the city announced a moratorium on the shut-offs.

This past weekend, three officials from the United Nations (UN) traveled to Detroit on a fact-finding mission to see first-hand the extent to which peoples’ human right to safe drinking water and sanitation were being violated. They were stunned. They had never before seen a violation on this scale in a developed nation, let alone the richest country in the world, and they recommended that the DWSD immediately stop the water shut-offs, restore service to homes that have been affected and implement a water affordability plan to ensure that all people, particularly vulnerable populations like children, the elderly and the infirm, have access to clean, affordable water.

We talk a lot about the implications of having one’s water shut off, including the inability to hydrate, prepare food, bathe, flush the toilet and clean one’s home. We talk about the potential for disease to spread, for children to be removed from their homes and for people to lose their homes, all because water is unaffordable for roughly 40 percent of the population in Detroit. But until you meet someone that has been living without water for days, weeks or even months, you can’t really begin to understand the health and social consequences. I’ve met these families, and I can assure you, however bad you think this all sounds, it’s actually much worse.

This weekend, brave Detroiters shared their stories with the UN officials and reporters, inviting them into their homes and speaking from the heart about their struggles to keep their taps flowing. In several neighborhoods, blue paint marked nearly every house on the street, indicating that the water there had been turned off.

Since March of this year, roughly 27,000 homes have lost access to water, and as of today, as much as one-third of those homes are still without water. The DWSD will continue its plan of shutting off 300-400 homes per day until temperatures reach freezing.

The UN officials have made their preliminary recommendations, and will continue to work with us and our fearless allies on the People’s Water Board to ensure that Detroiters are reconnected with our most basic human right, the right to water. The question now is: Will Detroit’s Mayor Duggan, Governor Snyder and President Obama hear the recommendations from the UN and act swiftly to fix these serious human rights violations? If not, I know that we will continue to fight alongside our allies and Detroiters until we ensure that all people Detroit are guaranteed access to safe, clean affordable water. Onward!