Activists, Detroiters warn of brewing water crisis

Lansing — Southeast Michigan residents brought a litany of angry and frustrated complaints to a hearing called Wednesday by lawmakers who want to tackle what was described as a brewing water crisis.

What they heard was the anguish of people from Detroit who’ve dealt with water shut-offs, what they say are unfair rates and government dysfunction. Flint residents complained they got sick after the city last year switched from Detroit’s system to river water.

“There is a fundamental problem when a citizen of this state cannot rely on having affordable and accessible water,” said Detroit attorney Alice Jennings. “A public health crisis is looming if not already occurring.”

Jennings has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Detroit residents hit with or facing water shut-offs. She told lawmakers the homes of 33,000 residents were shut off last year and only about half were able to get their service restored.

Another 30,000 to 35,000 face shut-offs this year, Jennings claimed. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has estimated Detroit has 20,000 to 25,000 delinquent residential accounts. Shut-off comes into play for accounts at least 60 days late or owe $150 or more.

City officials have noted service won’t be interrupted for customers who opt into a payment plan. There are about 32,000 customers in payment plans.

One resident, Nicole Hill, said she hasn’t been able to get an explanation for water bills as high as $989 in a single month, which has caused her water to be shut off twice last year.

The mother of three said she needed help from “a guardian angel” to get her service restored after it was cut off for two weeks last summer and again in October.

Hill, who works and attends college at night, said she spent weeks preparing “things you wouldn’t normally eat” for meals, spending extra dollars to launder her kids’ school uniforms and finally ending up in a hospital.

Hill said she was diagnosed with viral pneumonia and told by nurses “that absolutely was from not having clean water.”

“It was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had in my life,” she said.

Lawmakers heard about schools forced to open their showers early for children whose families had lost water service, bacterial infections and residents fearing the state will remove children from their homes because they’ve lost their water service.

“The water shut-offs are a man-made disaster,” said Flint activist Monica Lewis-Patrick. “Water is a human right, and we will not be denied.”

Flint residents complained that months went by before the city notified them of tests showing problems with their water.

The city was found in violation of the federal Safer Drinking Water Act Dec. 1 after tests showed too-high levels of trihalomethanes, a disinfection byproduct. There also have been three boil water advisories.

Rep. Julie Plawecki, D-Dearborn Heights, was visibly moved by the 2 1/2-hour outpouring.

“It makes me want to cry to think about how awful this has been for you,” Plawecki said to the more than 80 residents of Detroit, Flint and Highland Park at the hearing. “This has to stop, and it’s going to stop.”

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