Water shut-offs in sharp focus amid virus outbreak
Millions across nation simply can’t wash their hands
DETROIT — The advice is simple and universal: Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
But for millions of people across the country, that’s not simple at all: They lack running water in their houses due to service shutoffs prompted by overdue bills.
The Rev. Roslyn Bouier remembers when children began to show up at the Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry on Detroit’s northwest side, clutching empty pitchers. It was the summer of 2014, and the kids were parched. But their thirst didn’t come from playing outside — they had no water at home.
That was the year the city of Detroit started its water shut-off campaign, turning off water to 28,500 residential accounts behind on payments. Through the end of 2019, the city has recorded about 127,500 total service cutoffs, according to the water department, though that figure includes households where the water was turned off repeatedly.
“In this pandemic, it’s the people who are living on the margins of society and the poorest of our society that’s being the most adversely impacted,” Bouier said.
We the People of Detroit co-founder Monica LewisPatrick said her organization, which has campaigned for years to end shut-offs, has struggled to find bottled water to deliver to families without service because supplies are being hoarded.
“Water is locked down,” Lewis-Patrick said. “Many people have been texting and emailing me to say ‘What else can we do?’ The world is crying out that there must be a turning on of the water.”
Water advocates and elected officials argue that it’s impossible for families to follow the hygienic coronavirus standards outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization when they don’t have water in their homes.
And members of Congress and national organizations are pushing for federal legislation and other action to protect residents facing high water bills and shutoffs amid the crisis.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order Saturday requiring communities statewide to restore water service, effectively ending water shutoffs for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state has also established a $2 million fund through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to help provide funding to local communities to help reconnect homes to their water supplies.
Water shut- offs have been recorded in all 50 states, according to Mary Grant, director of the Food & Water Action’s Public Water for All Campaign.
Grant said her organization has tracked 417 municipalities and states that have issued moratoriums on the shut- offs, including the state of New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the suspension of utility shut-offs March 13.
The group estimates the moratoriums protect more than 142 million from disconnections — or more than 40% of the U.S. population.
In Alaska, the Rural Utility Collaborative advisory committee, which manages water systems for 26 communities, just voted to immediately reconnect running water to homes cut off for not paying their bills.
“Hand-washing is the No. 1 prevention for spreading any illness,” said Francine Moreno, the utility’s senior program manager.
Grant’s group is calling for the moratoriums to be extended nationwide.
“At a time when we’re hearing the federal government, the CDC, our governors say ‘wash your hands,’ for people who have lost their water service because they can’t afford the water bill, they can’t take these measures,” she said.
A team of independent experts affiliated with the United Nations Human Rights Council has called on governments around the world to end water cuts.
“The global struggle against the pandemic has little chance to succeed if personal hygiene, the main measure to prevent contagion, is unavailable to the 2.2 billion persons who have no access to safe water services,” the experts said.
While many communities have announced moratoriums, Detroit is one of the few to have a specific plan to turn on the water, announcing a program March 9 that would restore service for $25 a month.
The city has restored water to more than 840 homes, with about 190 work orders still pending, but does not know the exact number of homes without service, the water department said.
An official said the city plans to reach out to 5,400 houses “out of abundance of caution.”