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

This Man Would Pay For Water If The City Would Only Send A Bill

Video

Maybe Detroit Will
Start Charging For Air

Water Is Everywhere, But the
City Is Turning Off Tap After Tap

Video

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

Water Doesn't Have To Be Free, Just Affordable

Video

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?! …

STORY

Why Can't We Share God's Resources?

Video

Their Lifeline Is a Leaking Fire Hydrant

Gloria Irizarry and Aaron Barkley Live Without Running Water Near
an Enormous Abandoned Auto Plant in Detroit

Video

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