Judge hearing historic bankruptcy case says city can continue to shut off water access to residents behind on payments

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The judge overseeing Detroit’s bankruptcy ruled Monday that the city can continue to shut off water if people can’t pay their bill.

Judge Steven Rhodes said there was no “enforceable right” to water and the Detroit water department would face a significant risk of higher defaults if a moratorium was issued. “The last thing it needs is this hit to its revenues,” he said.

Detroit’s Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) began shutting off water to customers who were behind on payments this spring, cutting off around 22,000 people between March and August.

In court, city attorney Thomas O’Brien argued the department would suffer financially if ordered to supply water without payment. “There are limits” to what the department can do, he said.

The shutoffs sparked a wave of protests, and criticism from United Nations officials who said for those with a “genuine inability to pay, human rights simply forbids disconnections”.

Rhodes said the water department probably had not done enough to help those with chronically low income. But he commended a recent plan to get people into a two-year payment scheme, starting with a 10% down payment.

The judge, who is overseeing Detroit’s historic bankruptcy, the largest in US history, said bankruptcy law doesn’t grant the authority to interfere with city services. “Detroit cannot afford any revenue slippage,” he said.

The water ruling came before Rhodes was expected to hear updates from city lawyers about plans to keep the city’s emergency manager Kevyn Orr on the job until the bankruptcy exit strategy is approved.

Orr was appointed in March 2013 and shortly after made the decision to declare the city bust. Under the new agreement Orr would technically remain emergency manager until the plan of adjustment is confirmed but he would hand back control of city government to mayor Mike Duggan and other city official.