Overview:
- Monica Lewis-Patrick advocates for federal involvement in creating sustainable water affordability solutions.
- Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee have differing approaches to water shutoffs for non-payment.
- Vice President Kamala Harris's Water Justice Act, though it did not progress, aimed to address water affordability and infrastructure issues.
When the topic is clean, safe and affordable drinking water, Detroit’s Monica Lewis-Patrick speaks clearly.
“It’s a fundamental human right that is essential for life; it should be treated as a public commons and be protected for everyone,” Lewis-Patrick told Planet Detroit.
Lewis-Patrick is President and CEO of the water rights advocacy group We the People of Detroit. Best known for her activism at the local and state level, she now calls on the federal government to engage in water rights.
“The federal government should lead in creating sustainable, long-term solutions for water affordability across the nation,” Lewis-Patrick said.
However, water management primarily remains at the municipal, county, and state levels. There, it’s often a patchwork of regulations and assistance programs by responsible agencies, with the shutoff issue for non-payment a prime example of inefficiency.
A 2022 University of Michigan study of affordability recommended “prohibiting water shutoffs for economically vulnerable households.”
Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee
Detroit has been in the spotlight on water shutoffs since 2014, when the United Nations sent a representative to document the harm caused by shutoffs. Since then, it has softened its approach to minimize the need to shut off water for non-payment, but the possibility still exists.
By contrast, in Chicago, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot banned shutoffs on her first day in office in 2019, saying they are a “heartless act.” What followed was a protracted process that resulted in a 2022 ordinance codifying into law an end to shutoffs for non-payment. The law included an affordability plan that prevented future privatization of Chicago’s water department.
But Chicago and Milwaukee, which also don’t shut off water for non-payment, are outliers.
In the U.S., 20% of households are in debt to their water utility, with a shutoff rate of 5%, according to a February Department of Health and Human Services survey. A 2022 University of Michigan study found that water unaffordability in Michigan was pervasive in rural and urban communities.
The current federal affordability program designed to provide emergency assistance is stalled in Congress due to a lack of funding. The budget process is crippled by dysfunction, and politically motivated stop-gap measures currently fund the government.
In Michigan, 2023 affordability legislation sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Chang, a Democrat, failed to advance despite a Democrat majority in the Senate and House.
Some water managers and advocates say a comprehensive, forward-looking federal program could greatly improve the drinking water crisis. They say a Kamala Harris presidency could lead the way if elected.
Harris’ Water Justice Act
Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Harris was a first-term U.S. senator from California in 2019 when she introduced the Water Justice Act legislation. The bill was sweeping in scope, with a request for $220 billion, and much of that money was targeted at infrastructure.
Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee and former Rep. Brenda Lawrence sponsored the legislation in the House. Both are Democrats.
While the money for infrastructure grabbed the headline, it is worth noting that it would have established a “$10 billion program to allow the states to offset the cost of water bills in low-income communities and environmental at-risk households.”
Learn more
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For perspective, Sen. Chang pegged the cost of her legislation to be $100 million to jump-start an affordability program. In 2022, General Motors alone received $666 million in state funds to support a multi-billion dollar plan to invest in EV and battery manufacturing in Michigan.
Harris’ Water Justice Act didn’t advance. She became vice president in 2021 and was nominated by Democrats to run for president when President Joe Biden opted not to seek a second term.
However, Harris’s 2019 interest in water rights didn’t go unnoticed when she became a presidential candidate in 2024. Planet Detroit asked the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) and the national nonprofit Food & Water Action for their take on a potential comprehensive federal water program broader than currently exists. Oakland County did not respond to a request to comment.
Detroit Water and Sewer District sees a national need
“Given the level of need nationally, and in Michigan specifically, we believe there needs to be both a federal source and a state-dedicated source of funding for water affordability programs,” said Bryan Peckinpaugh, DWSD’s Public Affairs Director. Peckinpaugh said the two funding sources could work in tandem.
He emphasized that there is agreement that there should be “a separate program for water affordability, with a separate, designated funding source.”
DWSD Director and CEO Gary Brown said Detroit’s income-based Lifeline Plan on affordability “is becoming a model for other cities.” “We need a nationwide, sustained funding source for water affordability,” he said.
Neither Peckinpaugh nor Brown mentioned the possibility or likelihood of a Harris administration push for a nationwide program if elected.
Food & Water Action: Harris as a champion
“I believe that if elected president, Kamala Harris would be a champion for safe and affordable water,” said water justice advocate Mary Grant, who directs the Water for All campaign for the non-profit Food & Water Action.
Grant acknowledged that if elected, Harris would face many competing priorities as a new president. However, she said Harris has already demonstrated her commitment to water access through legislation she introduced in the Senate and throughout the Biden-Harris administration.
On the practice of shutting off drinking water for non-payment, Grant said, “We strongly support legislation that would stop water shutoffs due to unaffordable water bills.”
Grant called shutoffs “a violent connection practice that can cause widespread harm,” and said the United Kingdom and France have outlawed them.
On a potential Kamala Harris presidency, We the People of Detroit’s Lewis-Patrick said, “Given the urgency of the water affordability crisis, it should be at the top of her policy agenda.”