DWSD Spends Earth Day Explaining Hooker Payments

We thought we'd spend some time today, on Earth Day, to talk about all of the beautiful ways that Detroiters try to improve their environment and communities.

But instead, we find that the local news is distracted by more nonsense at the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). It turns out that DWSD employees are frivolously spending our public money from petty cash boxes to get back an impounded DWSD vehicle after one of their employees was busted on the job with a hooker. Thousands of other dollars in related funds have been spent for lavish retirement parties, in violation of City policies.

The nerve of these scoundrels! Every year DWSD officials come before Detroit City Council demanding that they need massive water and sewage rate increases and claiming that customers are delinquent. Meanwhile, they're also racing around town shutting-off water to low income Detroiters who are foregoing medications to pay what they can on their water bills.

MWRO, Call 'em Out, and the newly formed People's Water Board will continue to call out the snakes at the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and demand these thieves be held accountable! Join us at the next DWSD Board of Water Commissioners meeting on 5/27/09 at 2pm at the Water Board Building (735 Randolph, 5th Fl, Detroit, MI 48226).

(Image from the DWSD)

Detroit's Water Czar

While Congress and the White House toss around the fate of thousands of auto workers, and discuss the creation of a "Car Czar," we thought we'd mention another local czar in the news, Judge John Feikens.

Thirty-seven years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sued the Detroit Sewerage and Water Dept (DWSD) and the city to stop polluting the Detroit River. Judge Feikens was charged with overseeing local efforts--as the de facto water czar--and requiring local governments to respond to the lawsuit. Snow, rain, and widespread development created massive storm drain run-offs that contributed to water contamination in rivers and the area's watershed.

Many local groups have applauded Judge Feikens' heavy-handed efforts to comply with this Clean Water Act ruling, and there are noticeable improvements in the areas rivers, lakes, and beaches. In fact, his Detroit efforts have caused some to believe that this could be a national model for other cities.

But during this time, residents of two local water depts--the DWSD and Highland Park Water Dept--had another set of crises that the water czar did not include in his regional remedy plan. Since 2002 in Detroit, thousands of low-income residents had their water shut-off for lack of payment. In Highland Park, nearly half of the city's 16,000 residents had their water shut-off by cash-strapped local officials.

For several years, MWRO has worked in concert with local residents and grassroots leaders to have the water departments address this wide-scale public health and human rights problem. On several occasions, Judge Feikens' name came up by local water and city council officials as we pressed for relief or a moratorium on shut-offs.

Waterless residents were told that before any public policy changes could be made to help vulnerable populations restore their water service or establish affordable payments options, the water czar would first require payment and compliance with his legal orders by the water depts. In Highland Park, this made matters worse. Residents were receiving bills in the thousands of dollars (see film, The Water Front), and the city was nearly under receivership by the Governor because it could not pay its own bills.

For the past six years, MWRO members and local residents have sought a Water Affordability Program that would prevent shut-offs and allow low-income households to make modest monthly payments. We reached out to Judge Feikens for assistance and guidance and not once did we receive a response. If the Detroit water czar is truly interested in improving the area's quality of life through clean water then, we believe, part of that entails ensuring that the poorest members of the community are included and safeguarded against the harm of water shut-offs.

Lastly, a local study found that the cost of modernizing the Detroit region's sewage treatment plants and system pipes could be over $50 billion in the next 25 years. This could also double the cost of water bills within 15 years, which are already rising twice as fast as inflation. Low-income residents cannot manage this increase. What will the water czar do to avert this crisis?

Tonight: Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal (DIFT) Public Meeting

The Michigan Dept of Transportation is holding a final environmental impact public hearing tonight in Southwest Detroit. Residents can make statements about their concerns on the impact of the massive railroad and truck freight terminal, traffic, freeway reconstruction, air quality, and neighborhood changes. Make your voices heard!

The DIFT hearing will be at:
LA SED Gymnasium
7150 W. Vernor, Detroit
5:30-8:30pm
YOUR PARTICIPATION MATTERS!!

For more info contact 248-799-0140 or visit the Michigan DOT project website at Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal - Environmental Impact Study

Joblessness and Green Jobs

The latest jobless figures are in for Michigan and the good news is that Michigan is no longer number one. Rhode Island earned the notorious title last month with an unemployment rate of 8.8%, compared to Michigan's 8.7%. The Detroit Free Press also reported that jobless rates were up in 47 states, plus DC.

While the automobile and manufacturing sectors figure out what they're going to do to become 21st century industries, why don't we have more businesses, agencies, and local governments creating necessary "green jobs"?

Detroiters have long complained that curbside recycling is needed, along with more drop-in recycling centers. The Ecology Center in Ann Arbor reports that "Detroit is the only city of the 30 largest cities in the United States without any form of curbside recycling." In addition, the trash incinerator in Detroit is "the largest trash incinerator in the world. The incinerator burns nearly 800,000 tons of trash per year currently at a cost of over $170 per ton to Detroit residents (5-7 times the cost of suburbs that recycle and landfill). Hazardous air pollutants from the facility include mercury, lead and dioxins. Asthma hospitalization rates in Detroit are 3-4 times the average rate of the state of Michigan."

Large and small cities across the country have learned that recycling makes not only good environmental sense, but good business sense. Jobs are created and money is made when communities chose to practice good recycling efforts. Regarding Detroit, the Ecology Center adds: "A broad coalition of community organizations- environmental, civil rights, health, labor, faith-based and social service advocates- have proposed a New Business Model for Solid Waste Management in Detroit, which has been endorsed and supported by the Detroit City Council by a 6-2 majority. This plan would implement a curbside recycling pilot program by January 1, 2009 and close the incinerator at the end of its current contracts on June 30, 2009." MWRO supports this!

Some local businesses are also creating small numbers of jobs by promoting green products and practices--see Michigan Green Jobs. Let's push our elected officials to implement curbside recycling and help create the green jobs we want and need!

Photo courtesy of Flickr.