Un needed in Detroit to stop govt from preventing people getting water

Detroit — A coalition of welfare rights groups is appealing to the United Nations to assist Detroit residents in battling the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department over water shutoffs for delinquent bills.

In an eight-page report submitted this month to the UN special rapporteur, groups including the Sierra Club, the Detroit People’s Water Board, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and Blue Planet Project say they are “outraged” about the alleged violation of human rights to water and are calling on authorities to restore service and stop further cut-offs.

The groups are calling the situation a “massive human rights atrocity” and pleading with the federal and state government to work with the bankrupt city to establish a fair and sustainable rate structure.