Photo essay: Detroit’s Water Crisis
Click on any thumbnail to launch slideshow. All photos by Robin Dianoux. Hear and read Carla Green’s report here.
Roslyn Walker, who almost got her water shut off, meets with a lawyer who wants her to be a main plaintiff in a class action lawsuit she intends to file.
Greg Eno, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) spokesperson, talks about why the shut offs are necessary to make up the department’s 175 million dollar debt.
Elevator of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department building.
Disregarding any stigma it might cause, the company contracted to carry out the shut offs spray paints a blue line on the sidewalk in front of the disconnected houses.
Abayoni Azikiwe, a community organizer with Moratorium Now, speaks in the organization’s office about the link between the shut offs, the Detroit’s bankruptcy and other austerity measures in the city.
Window of Moratorium Now’s office. The dispute over the shut offs is part of a larger fight over the legitimacy of the city’s debt and the necessity of the bankruptcy.
Although residents receive a general warning on their bill stating that the water might be shut off if not paid, they do not receive any further notice before the shut off is enforced.
Demeeko Williams is a member of the Detroit Water Brigade, an organization that is trying to raise awareness about the water shut offs both locally and internationally.
Protesters in front of DWSD headquarters.
During the public comments session of the annual meeting DWSD’s commissioner’s meeting on June 25th, several people got up to denounce the shut offs.
Demeeko Williams advocates a change of policy at the water board meeting.
A postcard made by the People’s Water Board, a coalition of organizations working on issues related to water in Detroit.
