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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Darcey Rakestraw, 202-683-2467; drakestraw@fwwatch.org

Detroit Suspends Water Shutoffs

Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch Executive Director

WASHINGTON

July 21 - "We are glad the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) has announced it will suspend water shutoffs for 15 days to allow residents to demonstrate their inability to pay. But this is only a small step toward rectifying the problem in Detroit.

"DWSD must take this time to fundamentally reconsider its use of draconian water shutoffs as a means of strong-arming residents who cannot afford to pay their water bills. It must also turn back on the water of those households that have had their water service shutoff.

"DWSD's action shows what we can do when we organize, and we must not back down just because shutoffs have been suspended. So long as thousands of homes have their water off, and thousands more still face the threat of shutoffs, there is the threat of a public health crisis."

Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

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