Water Shut-off Protest Marches Through Downtown Detroit [Pics]

A demonstration protesting aggressive delinquent water shut-offs by the cash-strapped City of Detroit that has left many of the city's poor without water filed through the streets of Detroit. The protest ended up in Hart Plaza.

Bolstered by attendees of the ongoing NetRoots Nation Convention the crowd of around 2,000 protesters make their way down Larned toward Woodward.
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Protesters streams past the Spirit of Detroit statue in front of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in downtown Detroit.
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...and past the controversial Joe Louis Fist Sculpture.
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...to rally in Hart Plaza.
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Democracy and protests - A Detroit Tradition.

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Originally Posted by Lowell

A demonstration protesting aggressive delinquent water shut-offs by the cash-strapped City of Detroit that has left many of the city's poor without water filed through the streets of Detroit. The protest ended up in Hart Plaza.

Bolstered by attendees of the ongoing NetRoots Nation Convention the crowd of around 2,000 protesters make their way down Larned toward Woodward.

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Was there a collection bucket @ the end where people could donate to make up the $180 mil deficit? They should have kept marching down to Hart Plaza, plenty of free water @ the River's edge.

Just saying!!! A Jefferson vacant business property is just gushing water. So please excoriate citizens for not paying bills and ignore obvious waste due to negligence on the city's part.

Saw that a neighbor on the next block got shut off . Pompous stuff, they blocked the street even.

Interesting: Detroit is about 80-85% black but a quick glance at the pics looks like the protesters were about 80-85% white.

I heard that people are leaving their homes because they didn't pay their water bill. Where do they think they will go that won't require them to pay for water? They say water is a human right...well, so is shelter, heat, food, the basics of life to stay alive. Maybe the gas company is next on the list of companies that people will picket, demanding free service because heat is a human right. Or maybe Consumers Energy, because after all, electricity should be a human right, too.

When you don't pay your bills, the creditors come calling. Don't pay for your mortgage, the bank forecloses; don't pay for your car, it gets repossessed. Because of the "lax" enforcement by the City of Detroit, many people have perpetuated this problem for years, but the money is still owed. It's all about complacency, irresponsibility, and priorities.

I am so sick of these whiners trying to place their responsibilities on other peoples shoulders because the ones who scrimp and save to pay their bills will be the ones who ultimately end up paying for these irresponsible people. I understand that some people just can't pay and need help and they should make the effort to get it. But I also understand that many many people pay for their smartphones, their cable service and the things they deem important. It's high time that people take responsibility for themselves instead of always blaming someone else for their misfortunes.

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Originally Posted by sumas

Just saying!!! A Jefferson vacant business property is just gushing water. So please excoriate citizens for not paying bills and ignore obvious waste due to negligence on the city's part.

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Both need to be addressed promptly.

Back in 2007, there was a water main leak at Livernois & Buena Vista. Even though I called DWSD about it at the beginning of the summer, the leak was still gushing a couple of months later in August. The only change: a barricade on the sidewalk -- 10 to 15 feet away from the actual leak.

My general thoughts on the issues at hand:

- Water main leaks should be fixed promptly.
- Those who can pay their water bills, but choose not to, should be subject to collection.
- Those with true financial hardship should contact DWSD to make some sort of payment arrangement. I can't speak for the present, but in years past, many utilities would encourage customers to call them if they couldn't pay their bills to avoid shutoffs. It's easier to address a $100 past due bill than to wait until it's ballooned beyond that and now subject to collection/shutoff.

I must really be as dumb as some think. Can't understand at all this issue.

There's plenty of water all around. We can say the river, sarcastically, but certainly at every church on every corner. Every community center. There's just nobody here who is deprived of necessary water for life.

What's being debated is whether some people should get free water delivered to their residence.

I think the protesters are just unhappy people who feel better when they have someone to pity. Their self-worth is improved if they fight for rights.

I just don't get it, it seems.

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Originally Posted by jt1

Interesting: Detroit is about 80-85% black but a quick glance at the pics looks like the protesters were about 80-85% white.

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Probably clueless "progressives" from the burbs who think this is an issue of economic injustice rather than one of moochers and deadbeats.

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Originally Posted by jt1

Interesting: Detroit is about 80-85% black but a quick glance at the pics looks like the protesters were about 80-85% white.

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This might explain it; I noticed the OP said the march was "Bolstered by attendees of the ongoing NetRoots Nation Convention..." I wasn't sure who they were, so I hit the link and read this on their site -

The big picture: We amplify progressive voices by providing an online and in-person campus for exchanging ideas and learning how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate. Through our annual convention and other events, we strengthen the community, inspire action and serve as an incubator for ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately affect change in the public sphere.
The big event: The ninth annual gathering of the Netroots will be held July 17–20 in Detroit, MI. Netroots Nation 2014 will include 80 panels, 40 training sessions, inspiring keynotes, film screenings and other engaging sessions designed to educate, stimulate and inspire the nation’s next generation of progressive leaders.
Each year, thousands of bloggers, newsmakers, social justice advocates, labor and organizational leaders, grassroots organizers and online activists come together to make new connections, hone their organizing skills, share best practices and build stronger relationships with others working on the issues they care most about. And each year, some of the brightest minds in progressive politics come to Netroots Nation to speak with—and hear from—our community.

Past conferences have featured a Presidential Leadership Forum that drew seven Democratic candidates including then-Senator Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton; a surprise visit from Al Gore; interactive Q&A sessions with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid; an appearance by President Bill Clinton; and a chance to hear from three Nobel laureates. As The New York Times said, Netroots Nation is “becoming as much a part of the Democratic political circuit as the Iowa State Fair.”
Think of it as a giant family reunion for the left. And while we’re this country’s largest progressive gathering, we’re also expanding overseas. We held the first Netroots UK in 2011 and the first Netroots Sweden in 2012. A second Netroots UK was held in June 2012.

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Originally Posted by sumas

Just saying!!! A Jefferson vacant business property is just gushing water. So please excoriate citizens for not paying bills and ignore obvious waste due to negligence on the city's part.

Saw that a neighbor on the next block got shut off . Pompous stuff, they blocked the street even.

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Have you called the water department about this? I saw on the DWSD website that they have introduced a smartphone app to report things such as this.

I pay for the things that I need and want, in that order.

If DWSD isn't allowed to shut off freeloaders, then there is no reason to pay.

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Originally Posted by sumas

Just saying!!! A Jefferson vacant business property is just gushing water. So please excoriate citizens for not paying bills and ignore obvious waste due to negligence on the city's part.

Saw that a neighbor on the next block got shut off . Pompous stuff, they blocked the street even.

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It's weird that those things don't just fix themselves. Doesn't the building know that water is a right? Therefore it should just fix itself!

Problem solved!

Also, I question the 2000+ protesters number. The 11am news said between 100-200 people... and then out of the blue another 2000 show up?! I don't buy it for a second. Look closely at the pics and TV reports and you'll see quite a bit of concrete in between the people. 2000+ bodies in a mass protest [[even a peaceful march) equals not much concrete visible. But I guess "Thousands came out to protest..." makes for better news instead of "100-200 people marched..."

I think the DWSD has done a pretty poor job of rolling out this program, from a PR standpoint.

They should have been much more proactive in highlighting the help available to the truly needy.

Likewise, they should be emphasizing efforts to shut off vacant structures and to collect from well-healed businesses, in order to show that they are not just targeting "poor folks."

There is some information on their website detailing how the vast majority of those shut off in May had the service quickly restored, due to paying their bills or arranging payment plans. [[Interesting how 76% managed to find sufficient funds within 2 days.....) But if that continues to be the case, they should be updating with more current figures.

I typically have a left of center perspective, but if I were attending Netroots Nation [[which I actually considered since its in Detroit) I would NOT be marching in this protest. Its a knee-jerk reaction to a complicated issue.

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Originally Posted by DetroiterOnTheWestCoast

I think the DWSD has done a pretty poor job of rolling out this program, from a PR standpoint.

They should have been much more proactive in highlighting the help available to the truly needy.

Likewise, they should be emphasizing efforts to shut off vacant structures and to collect from well-healed businesses, in order to show that they are not just targeting "poor folks."

There is some information on their website detailing how the vast majority of those shut off in May had the service quickly restored, due to paying their bills or arranging payment plans. [[Interesting how 76% managed to find sufficient funds within 2 days.....) But if that continues to be the case, they should be updating with more current figures.

I typically have a left of center perspective, but if I were attending Netroots Nation [[which I actually considered since its in Detroit) I would NOT be marching in this protest. Its a knee-jerk reaction to a complicated issue.

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Part of DWSD is that they put off this problem until it was urgent for them to do so. They could have started the process many years ago and done it with more sensitivity, but ya know...

I also don't particularly agree with the protesters either, but I at least understand that some people have been hit hard with what essentially is a DWSD screw up. I just heard on Fox 2 that they've been blocking the entrance to a contractor's building to prevent shut offs, but it's also preventing them from going back out to turn water back on for those who have paid. Not very smart protesting.

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Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Part of DWSD is that they put off this problem until it was urgent for them to do so. They could have started the process many years ago and done it with more sensitivity, but ya know...

I also don't particularly agree with the protesters either, but I at least understand that some people have been hit hard with what essentially is a DWSD screw up. I just heard on Fox 2 that they've been blocking the entrance to a contractor's building to prevent shut offs, but it's also preventing them from going back out to turn water back on for those who have paid. Not very smart protesting.

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But it makes the protesters feel good.

Come on people, pay up! the horse shoe guy needs to keep his job.

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Originally Posted by DetroiterOnTheWestCoast

I think the DWSD has done a pretty poor job of rolling out this program, from a PR standpoint.
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I typically have a left of center perspective, but if I were attending Netroots Nation [[which I actually considered since its in Detroit) I would NOT be marching in this protest. Its a knee-jerk reaction to a complicated issue.

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Well said... I take it as a given that little done by DWSD is done very well.

Free water service to residence is absurd -- but so is DWSD billing practices. Have you ever got a bill from them? They're nearly impossible to read. And call them to inquire? Ha!

That's why when I hear Ford Field / Ilitch are behind on water... I immediately assume that they are just trying to figure out what they really owe.

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Originally Posted by DetroiterOnTheWestCoast

Have you called the water department about this? I saw on the DWSD website that they have introduced a smartphone app to report things such as this.

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Odd... I responded to your comment but it doesn't show. My comment was of course I reported it.

If someone is older or actually unable to pay their bills I have some sympathy for them. Other than that, you have to pay your bills. It's common sense that if you don't pay the bill you lose your water.

I think people like to join these protests because they think they are showing how compassionate they are. Really I don't think protests like these do anything.

During the Occupy protests, someone I know [[who works everyday) wondered why none of those people were actually working.

I have no problems reading my water bill which is way too high, the dte bill is the one I have issues with. Finally got off the budget plan which was in the name of a man who has been dead for 20 yrs. They wouldn't let us do anything regarding the account except of course take payments. With a zero balance we now have to call to get a current bill.

We pay our bills first, then live on whats left. I surely have empathy for those that can't pay though. Made a food delivery today to a friend who can't make ends meet.

"Pay up or you don't get water" skims over the consequences of a shutoff: that in our country and city a residence is legally uninhabitable without running water. Were the house due for inspection, it would not receive a certificate of occupancy. It is illegal in our fair city to rent someone a residence without hot and cold running water.

Because functioning indoor plumbing is so fundamental to our idea of what makes a residence habitable, shutting it off can start a cascade of trouble. Think of all the situations where you are subject to severe consequences for living in a technically uninhabitable structure, or failing to maintain the same: is it a condition of your mortgage? A loophole your insurance company could use to deny a claim? Relevant to your custody battle? Grounds for CPS to intervene?

Yes, DWSD is right to attempt a better collection rate. But I think the consequences of their actions are great enough that they are obligated to do so with a measure of humanity. Even something so simple as starting with the worst offenders, and working sequentially to those who owe the least.

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Originally Posted by LeannaM

If someone is older or actually unable to pay their bills I have some sympathy for them. Other than that, you have to pay your bills. It's common sense that if you don't pay the bill you lose your water.

I think people like to join these protests because they think they are showing how compassionate they are. Really I don't think protests like these do anything.

During the Occupy protests, someone I know [[who works everyday) wondered why none of those people were actually working.

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Protests are possibly meaningless. It does however highlight human issues. Compassion is not something to sneer at.

We are disabled seniors with a small income and still manage to contribute to causes and remain active in our community affairs. Try putting some money where your mouth is. The need is huge.

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Originally Posted by LeannaM

If someone is older or actually unable to pay their bills I have some sympathy for them. Other than that, you have to pay your bills. It's common sense that if you don't pay the bill you lose your water.

I think people like to join these protests because they think they are showing how compassionate they are. Really I don't think protests like these do anything.

During the Occupy protests, someone I know [[who works everyday) wondered why none of those people were actually working.

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They didn't have time to work, they were occupied.

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During the Occupy protests, someone I know [[who works everyday) wondered why none of those people were actually working.

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I think a lot of them were students or young graduates who couldn't find work. Lack of jobs was one of the issues the protest was about.