Oops! Detroit shuts off water to homeowners with up-to-date bills

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James Hill came home from a long day of work and tried to wash his hands. Lasix 20mg

The spigot was dry.

The Detroit Free Press editor couldn’t believe it. His water bill is automatically withdrawn from his bank account every month. He checked online. “Sure enough, my account is up to date,” he said. levaquin 500mg

Frustrated, Hill called the emergency line for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) and was told that he was among dozens of Detroiters whose water was shut off recently despite having up-to-date accounts.

It also happened Wednesday to Courtney Hermon-Taylor at a house she recently bought from the Detroit Land Bank, the much-hyped group charged with improving neighborhoods.

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“My Land Bank house has a brand new steam boiler I just put in that requires water to run, and if it had been any colder out, I would have been out thousands of dollars if all my nice new pipes and boiler had frozen!” she exclaimed.

It’s unclear how many people improperly lost water – or why. Mayor Duggan’s office said it has become aware of the situation and is investigating. A spokesman declined further comment.

DWSD said it’s looking into the matter and would respond later today.

This is the second big blunder by DWSD this month. We revealed two weeks ago that DWSD has grossly mismanaged the tracking of broken hydrants, endangering countless lives and property.

Hill, a vocal supporter of Detroit and longtime resident, vented about his frustrations on Facebook.

“It’s bad enough that we can’t get decent city services. But when you’re trying to do things right – auto bill pay, that clearly shows I have paid every month on time – it is just frustrating to have to endure this kinda crap!”

News of the improper shutoffs are likely going to renew calls for a moratorium. Detroit has been shutting off water to thousands of residents with delinquent bills, drawing criticism from as far away as the United Nations because so many of the city’s residents are impoverished and unable to catch up on their bills.

Mayor Duggan has defended the shutoffs as a necessary way to collect much-needed revenue for a city that just emerged from bankruptcy.

  City hall, DWSD, mayor duggan, mismanagement, shutoffs, Water, water bill

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.

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