One third of American households cannot afford water bills
Mass water shutoffs continue for Detroit households
By
Kathleen Martin
29 May 2017
A report released in January by Michigan State University (MSU) projects that over one third of American households will not be able to afford their water bills over the course of the next five years. Another report shows a 4 percent increase for the average US household just last year alone, the slowest rate since Circle of Blue began the study recordings seven years ago.
“Mass shutoffs in Detroit, Michigan have resulted in the termination of service for 50,000 households since the start of the campaign in 2014 to shut off water for delinquent residents,” the MSU report states. The city of Detroit has implemented a 10-30-50 payment plan scheme, forcing residents who are behind on their water bill to actually pay more than what they owe or face immediate shutoff.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) announced its resumption of mass shutoffs for nearly 18,000 households in April this year, a DWSD spring tradition once the danger of freezing has passed. One in six homes in Detroit do not have running water.
A large part of the affordability crisis facing many major American cities is a lack of resources allocated to funding infrastructure repair, maintenance and replacements. “Estimates of the cost to replace aging infrastructure in the United States alone project over $1 trillion are needed in the next 25 years to replace systems built circa World War II, which could triple the cost of household water bills,” the MSU report states.
However, this same report notes that it is not a lack of willingness of average people to pay for infrastructure updates, but rather “this willingness to pay [taxes for better…