In March 2020, just after the coronavirus made hand-washing a matter of public health, the City of Detroit announced a plan that kept water services on for residents for US$25 a month, with the first payment covered by the state.
Although all Detroiters had access to water during the pandemic, they continued to be billed at the higher standard rates.
In early 2023, Detroit resumed water shut-offs for bill nonpayment. Approximately 60,000, or 27% of Detroit’s 220,000 residential customers, had past-due bills last summer, according to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. The average customer owes $700, but some owe as much as $10,000 due to years of unpaid bills.
Although a variety of factors contribute to large past-due balances, water services in Detroit are expensive for many households, and the costs are rising.
The decline in population was particularly problematic for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. The organization had built out infrastructure to the suburbs with borrowed money. The reliance on debt, coupled with a shrinking population, resulted in a large number of customers with past-due balances.
In March 2020, just after the coronavirus made hand-washing a matter of public health, the City of Detroit announced a plan that kept water services on for residents for US$25 a month, with the first payment covered by the state.
Although all Detroiters had access to water during the pandemic, they continued to be billed at the higher standard rates.
In early 2023, Detroit resumed water shut-offs for bill nonpayment. Approximately 60,000, or 27% of Detroit’s 220,000 residential customers, had past-due bills last summer, according to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. The average customer owes $700, but some owe as much as $10,000 due to years of unpaid bills.
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