The City of Detroit Withheld Water From 40,000 People–So Activists Tapped the Mayor’s Mansion

[n2doc]

On the morning of August 3, volunteers from the Michigan and Detroit Coalitions Against Tar Sands (MICATS/DCATS) gathered at Detroit’s Manoogian Mansion, wearing shirts that read “Water Is Life” and carrying large, empty jugs.

The 4,000-square-foot residence on the Detroit River is the home of Mayor Mike Duggan. The volunteers were there with a simple goal: Force the mayor to share his water with the some 40,000 Detroit residents whose water has been shut off in the past year because they can’t pay their bills.

Because the mansion is city-owned, they reasoned, Detroiters lacking access to water in their own homes should be able to share in its resources. So activists attached hoses to the water taps on the side of the mansion and began to fill up their jugs, taking about 12 gallons in what they hoped would be a wake-up call to the city.

“Denying tens of thousands of people the right to water ought to be criminal; doing it while living in a city-owned mansion is just despicable,” said organizer Valerie Jean Blakely.

more

http://inthesetimes.com/article/18379/mayor-mike-duggan-withheld-water-from-40000-detroitersso-activists-tapped-h

[bvar22]

1. Denying people water IS criminal.

It is also very, very sick.

[Enthusiast]

4. Not according to the CEO of Nestle. It's the wave of the future.

Just part of the plan. Just wait until the TPP becomes law. Every city will become like Detroit.

[retrowire]

2. i don't think 12 gallons is gonna do it! n/t

[SoapBox]

3. Too bad they didn't bring a few tanker trucks.

[Demeter]

5. The situation is a mess, and the Mayor has no control

The mayor and city govt. were shut out when the court decided how the city's finances were to resolve. The Water Dept. was taking cover during the whole city bankruptcy proceeding for its own political gaming...It is galling that they would shut down water for the poor, but big corporate deadbeats have yet to be brought to heel...

As of 24 June 2014, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has taken on significant debt and delinquent accounts, and has been under discussion for potential privatization. Efforts to collect on overdue billing has been characterized as an effort "to get rid of the bad debt associated with the water department and prep the public entity for privatization".

Per a June 2014 Democracy Now article:

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department says half of its 323,000 accounts are delinquent and has begun turning off the taps of those who do not pay bills that total above $150 or that are 60 days late. Since March, up to 3,000 account holders have had their water cut off every week. The Detroit water authority carries an estimated $5 billion in debt and has been the subject of privatization talks.

Efforts to shut off water to delinquent corporate accounts have been tepid at best. "Vargo Golf, which owns Palmer Park Golf Course and Chandler Park Golf Course, tops the list, with a delinquent account balance of $437,714. Another Vargo Golf account for a separate property has a delinquent balance of $100,528." On his Daily Show, Jon Stewart called out Ford Field and Joe Louis Arena on their delinquent DWSD accounts.

In June 2014, activists from the Blue Planet Project had filed a "submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation ... activists say Detroit is trying to push through a private takeover of its water system at the expense of basic rights...wikipedia

By shutting down the water to the poorest, the Water Dept. assists the big developers in "Urban Renewal", or "redevelopment" as they are calling it now...driving the impoverished out, to God knows where.

[PatrynXX]

6. reminds me of Ukraine ironically

when the people discovered what was on the former President of Ukraine's land. (A BOAT? ) they had a field day. Yes city owned. sneaky but good for them..

[Dont call me Shirley]

7. Free access to clean water is a human right. These corporations do not have the right to poison

our water. Deny corporations the "right" to water, make them pay for their pollution so all humans, animals and plants have free access to clean water. Make the oligarchs pay for the cleanup of the messes they have created, including global warming.

[a kennedy]

8. Why the hell is going on....denying them water??? THAT'S CRIMINAL!!!!!!! eom

[jtuck004]

9. Maybe we could get them some help...

“A fight breaks out as student Vikas Dagar jostles with dozens of men, women and children to fill buckets from a truck that brings water twice a week to the village of Jharoda Kalan on the outskirts of New Delhi.

http://peakwater.org/2010/06/china-india-water-shortage-means-coca-cola-joins-intel-in-fight/

http://peakwater.org/tag/world-water-supply/


We call ourselves strong. *snort*

[Initech]

10. Holy shit, this is venturing into Mad Max territory.

[tblue37]

11. In the Denzel Washington film "The Book of Eli" warlords and their henchmen controlled access to

water in a world gone dry from climate change.

[tblue37]

12. Deleted accidental dupe.