Pontiac, Michigan’s Emergency Financial Manager Undermines Residents’ Right to Water

By Kate Fried

Be honest–this morning when you first turned on the tap to hop into the shower, make coffee, or engage in one of the other countless everyday tasks that requires water, you probably didn’t take a moment to reflect on the fact that clean water flowed from the faucet. No, you turned on the tap and beautiful clear liquid flowed from it—just like it did countless other times, as you’ve come to expect as a resident of a developed nation. Because that’s what happens when we take a resource for granted—we cease to think about it until something goes horribly wrong.

Well, if you live in Pontiac, Michigan, that day may be lurking right around the corner. A while back, the state appointed an Emergency Financial Manager to help whip the city’s troubled finances into shape. Last year, the manager handed the city’s water and sewer systems over to United Water, which if you follow such matters, you know has a track record of raising consumer rates and providing unreliable service. It was also charged with conspiracy and felony violations of the Clean Water Act in a 26-count indictment in Gary, Indiana last year.

Its performance in Pontiac hasn’t been terribly illustrious either. So far the Emergency Financial Manager has raised the price of drinking water for consumers by five percent, and sewage service by 14 percent. Additional increases are expected in 2012.

And now, it appears that the situation may worsen. The Emergency Financial Manager authorized that effective next month United Water will deny service to anyone who fails to pay their water bill. With nearly a third of Pontiac living below the poverty line, the prospect that some won’t be able to pay their water bills is a very real one, especially if rates continue to increase. So if you’re poor and living in Pontiac, cross water off the list of basic human rights you’ll be able to enjoy.

So far few have taken note of this situation, except for some financial gurus, who expect this strategy to raise money for the city. I guess it hasn’t occurred to them that people don’t pay their water bills because they can’t afford to, so threatening service cutoffs is unlikely to bring in much money.

Luckily, there may be a happy ending for some in all this gloom. Activists in Michigan are close to getting a referendum on the November ballot that would repeal recent changes to the state’s Emergency Financial Manager law. If those changes are repealed, emergency financial managers would no longer have sweeping authority over city finances and operations, and other cities would not have to suffer the same fate as Pontiac.

For more information visit Michigan Forward.