Detroit’s Dangerous Water Woes

Detroit’s Dangerous Water Woes

Mass Shut-Offs Threaten the Safety of Already- Struggling Residents, and No City Officials Have a Plan of Escape

Janet Bunting thought she had caught a lucky break. In 2010, Detroit was reeling from the recession and foreclosure signs were shooting up like skyrockets at the city’s riverfront July 4 fireworks show. For $2,000, Bunting, who works as a nanny, bought herself a house in the tree-lined Morningside neighborhood on Detroit’s east side. …

STORY

How Detroit’s Water Problem Became a Humanitarian Crisis

How Detroit’s Water Problem Became a Humanitarian Crisis

Public Health Is at Stake When You Cut Off People Who Can’t Pay

The United States needs a national water affordability law. Such legislation would require each state to have its own statute protecting access to water for low-income people and those below poverty level. To understand why such protection is necessary nationwide, consider the humanitarian and public health crisis in Detroit. …

STORY

Battling the Indignities of Detroit’s Water Shut-Offs

Battling the Indignities of Detroit’s Water Shut-Offs

Families Forced to Live Without Indoor Plumbing Are Robbed of Their Rights

I never considered myself a politically active type. In fact, I abhorred politics for three decades. But about 25 years ago, I realized that I couldn’t fight my personal health insurance issues without dealing with the many other human rights issues I’d heard people debate on C-Span …

STORY
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Behind Detroit’s Grim Blue Graffiti

PHOTOS

What Life in Detroit
Looks Like Without Water:
These Photographs Show a City Twitching
With Discomfort and Uncertainty

 

PHOTOS
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Detroit Cut Off My 86-Year-Old Grandmother’s Water

Detroit Cut Off My 86-Year-Old Grandmother’s Water

Soaring Prices for the Life-Sustaining Resource Has Driven My Hometown Crazy

I’m not that old—38—but I’m old enough to remember when no one talked about water bills in Detroit. I used to get bills every three months for $18 or $20. Those were the good old days. …

STORY

The Muddy Ethics of Detroit’s Water

The Muddy Ethics of Detroit’s Water

The City’s Future Looks Grim as Access to Clean Water Becomes a Rich Person’s Commodity

One early morning last week, I was groggily brushing my teeth when I realized the water pouring out of my faucet was yellow. Like urine.

I dry heaved. Spit the toothpaste out of my mouth. Wiped my tongue with a towel.

What was wrong with the water?! …

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