Controversial water shutoffs could hit 17,461 Detroit households

About 17,461 Detroit households are at risk for water shutoffs next month when the city's water department resumes its controversial program, the Free Press has learned.

The potential shutoffs have angered some local activists who argue the city should instead create a comprehensive affordability plan to help prevent service interruptions altogether.

Water shutoffs have long been a divisive issue in Detroit. The shutoffs made international headlines in 2014 when tens of thousands of shutoffs began, catching the attention of United Nations officials.

"When I got here, 50,000 people were at risk of being shut off and 44,000 were actually shut off," Water and Sewerage Director Gary Brown said in an interview. "The United Nations was here, people were picketing, and rightly so, saying this was inhumane and unfair."

Last year, the water department shut off 17,689 delinquent accounts, a 20% drop from 2016 when there were close to 28,000 service interruptions, according to officials.

The average past due amount is $663, Brown said, adding that he expects the number of at-risk customers to drop significantly by May because he expects most customers will come in to set up payment arrangements.

The department makes at least three attempts before disconnecting services, officials said. But this year, Brown said, water department employees will make a fourth attempt at customers, prior to shutoffs.

And while Brown said his department has made significant strides in recent years to help create more options and better payment plans for residents, he agrees more work needs to be done.

"Anyone being shut off is unfairly disadvantaged," Brown said. "There’s a level of poverty in this city that has them strapped for cash. We recognize that but I’m saying to them, every single residential customer has a path to not have service interruption. We’re trying to be compassionate about it but at the same time I'm bound by law to collect the services that are rendered. It’s unfair to the 90% of residential customers that are paying. That’s the tricky part: separating the truly needy from those who are just not paying."

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In addition to residential customers, about 2,600 commercial customers are at risk for shutoffs.

Brown said the department in mid-April will begin to notify residential customers they're at risk, with shutoffs expected to begin toward the end of the month.

Brown previously said the department has improved its residential programs and reduced the number of households likely to be shut off by 53% within the past three years.

"No matter how many are at risk, once the notices start going out, once the door knockers start going out, 50% of the people — when the notices go out — are going to come in and make a payment and remove themselves from shutoff status," Brown said in the interview. "We’re going to end up with 10% out of 175,000 customers. Only 2,000 are going to be shut off."

But local organizations who work with at-risk populations said that projected number remains far too high and not enough has been done by the city to stymie or prevent shutoffs. They've also questioned the decision to put more money toward conducting shutoffs.

The Detroit City Council approved a $7.8-million contract last week for Homrich Wrecking to conduct water shutoffs in the city through June 30, 2021. Previous years of contracts have been anywhere from $5.6 million or more.

"The problem we continue to have with Mr. Brown is that they’re not forthcoming with how many people that have been shut off and not restored, which is what we’re continuing to monitor," said Monica Lewis-Patrick, president and CEO of We the People of Detroit, which fights water equity and other issues.

"...It just disturbs me," Lewis-Patrick said, adding that her hotline worker has received numerous calls already this year. "It really makes me emotional because we’re at three and a half years of delivering water (to residents impacted by shutoffs). I have families who haven't been restored water for over three years so I know there are families out there that we do not know of. How bad does it have to get for this city and for this state to adopt a water sustainability plan?"

When asked by the Free Press whether there are customers who have been shut off and continue to live without water in Detroit homes, the water department said in a statement Friday:

"There are several reasons why water service may be off in a home, including the former owner requested it turned off when they vacated the property and the new occupant has yet to request service. DWSD works with members of the community who may have identified residents who are living in a house without water service to get the resident access to assistance programs to have their water turned on."

The Free Press also asked how many accounts of that nature exist. The water department did not respond or share any data.

Last April, more than 18,000 households were at risk for shutoffs, but Brown said that number fell to 9,000 within three weeks because residents either enrolled in the Water Residential Assistance Program, entered a payment arrangement, or paid their past due balance before having service interrupted. By June, the number was down to 1,000 residential households at-risk.

Brown noted WRAP helps pay down past-due accounts and allows customers to get up to $1,000 per year in assistance to make plumbing repairs that lead to high usage. WRAP has helped more than 8,000 households since March 2016 and 3,557 are currently enrolled. If a customer isn't eligible for the WRAP program, which is funded by the Great Lakes Water Authority, the person can enroll in the department's 10/30/50 payment plan, which was developed to help with residents who are past due on water and sewerage bills. The plan allows customers to pay down a past due balance in increments, while also paying on a current bill.

But Meeko Williams, chief director of Hydrate Detroit, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency water deliveries and water restoration help to Detroit families, said the city needs an actual affordable water plan in place. Williams and others are advocating for an income-based plan.

"Affordability should be the No. 1 concern," Williams said. "Why are those 17K at risk? What have you (the city) done to engage them? A lot of my clients are in situations where they get stuck with a water bill and they can’t afford it. Right now, nothing will change and nothing will happen until you give the people affordable water."

Brown said while he understands the concerns raised by activists, specifically around water affordability, he's not legally allowed to use water rate dollars for "anything other than to pay for the services I provide."

"We've written legislation that does change it ... so it's not that I'm not trying to get the law changed," Brown said. "But the commercial customers they're going to say, 'You can't take my rate dollar and provide a service to the poor. You're charging me and taking my dollars to supplement another class.' Right now, the law doesn't allow you to do that. I don't see a path to implementing it. There's more than one way to get to the problem but, again, the problem is poverty."

Williams said he and others also believe Mayor Mike Duggan needs to do more from his office to address the continuing issue.

"I think Detroiters, we’re asking for a rate that protects the vulnerable and the poor," Williams said. "I think it would be best for the mayor to do something about it. He’s the CEO of the city."

Duggan spokesman John Roach said the mayor has been heavily involved in helping to create more options for Detroiters struggling to pay their water bills. Roach said Duggan helped lead the charge in 2014 to create a newer, more effective payment plan such as 10/30/50.

"The mayor has always been very clear that customers who can afford to pay their bills are expected to but as a city, we need to do everything we can to help the people who need assistance," Roach said. "Before he was elected, Detroiters who were struggling had virtually no help from the city. ... In the past two years alone, the city has provided more than $7 million to help thousands of Detroiters keep their water on."

Lewis-Patrick said she's greatly concerned about the long term impact shutoffs will have on the city's future, despite its widely heralded comeback story.

"For many people, it's almost like you’re a refugee in the city because of the imminent threat," Lewis-Patrick said. "As it relates to ensuring that every Detroiter has access to clean water, we continue to fail. ...I still say we have a looming public health crisis."

Contact Katrease Stafford: kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759.

Need help?

If you need help, check if you're eligible for the Water Residential Assistance Program by contacting 313-386-9727.

For more information about the Detroit Water and Sewerage department's 10/30/50 plan, which helps you make payments in increments, contact 313-267-8000.