Detroit Cuts Off Water to Thousands More Poor Residents

Published June 2, 2015 | By skrufff

Thousands more impoverished families in Detroit faced being permanently cut off from the city’s tap water infrastructure this week, after officials from Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s office launched a new wave of shut-offs against residents owing more than US$150, or being in arrears for more than 2 months.

City officials estimated around 1,000 homes will be disconnected this week with 50,000 more facing imminent cut-off, provoking an angry response from Demeeko Williams of the Detroit Water Brigade.

“We all have to come together as a city, country and a world to comply with the declaration made by the United Nations last year after their representatives visited Detroit—that water is a human right, water is life,” the civil liberties campaigner told VoiceOfDetroit.net.

“Detroit government is violating that declaration by shutting off people in a city where 59 percent of the children live in poverty, with a total poverty rate of 39 percent,” he added.

The latest round of water cut-offs came as Detroit techno legend Robert Hood admitted he remains less than optimistic about the city’s long-term future, in an interview with Hyponik.com.

“There’s a real sense of hopelessness in Detroit, you can feel it and you can see it in people’s eyes,” said Hood (who nowadays lives in Alabama).

“There will always be that element of rich people with the money and the capital to invest and take advantage of Detroit’s plight,” he added.

http://hyponik.com/features/robert-hood-gospel

https://www.facebook.com/waterbrigade (‘40% of Detroit is about to have their water shut off. We’re stepping up and doing something about it . . .’)