"Class action aims to force city with one of country’s most expensive water rates to institute affordable payment plan".
"A coalition of civil rights groups have filed a landmark class action to permanently ban water shutoffs for Detroit residents and force the city to implement an affordable payment plan.
Detroit, which has one of the most expensive water rates in the country, has disconnected more than 140,000 households since 2014, as part of an internationally condemned debt collection scheme which has left thousands of vulnerable residents without running water for months or years.
The federal lawsuit, led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF), claims the mass shutoffs have disproportionately affected the city’s black residents and endanger the physical integrity of those left without running water."
Nina Lakhani reports for the Guardian July 9, 2020.
SEE ALSO:
"Revealed: Millions Of Americans Can’t Afford Water As Bills Rise 80% In A Decade" (Guardian)
