Liquid Assets Documentary on Water Infrastructure

Liquid Assets is another anticipated documentary on the nation's water crisis. But this time it's not about the water shut-off and affordability problems that we're familiar with. Instead, this film reports on the decaying infrastructure of water systems in the U.S.

Michiganders know all too well about broken water and sewer lines in their neighborhoods, and along busy streets and highways. Every winter, residents witness frozen household and street pipes reach their limit and burst from years of usage, erosion, and damage. While homeowners are responsible for fixing pipes on and near their property lines, there is a vast network of underground pipes that belong to the general public. There are, however, too few resources and even fewer large-scale plans to address this impending crisis.

Liquid Assets investigates this problem and interviews a variety of political leaders, industry officials, and community activists. Their responses tell of the need for what could be the nation's single largest public works project in history. Learn more by viewing the Liquid Assets trailer, and reading the website's Synopsis and Themes.

Don't Allow Another "American Blackout"

With only 15 days before the elections, it's time to remember some of the lessons from 2004 and 2000. During every Detroit election cycle, there are wide-scale complaints of ballot irregularities, voter fraud, ballot tampering, and polling site delays. Knowing this, we need to be more alert and more proactive in our vigilance to secure our voting rights. We must make it our personal responsibility not to allow voter disenfranchisement at our polling sites, in our absentee ballots, and across our communities!

American Blackout, the 2006 film that captured and reported many of these national problems during the last Presidential election, is coming to Detroit. Make sure you see this film here or elsewhere across the country as it tours and reminds us of the calculated efforts to thwart our vote.

See American Blackout FREE in Detroit:
Monday, October 27, 6pm at Marygrove College (Madame Cadillac Hall, 8425 W. McNichols) RSVP; and
Wednesday, October 29, 12pm at Wayne State University Undergraduate Library (off Warren Ave/Anthony Wayne Dr), followed by a discussion.

See the American Blackout trailer:

Nestle Theatens Florida Water Dept For Praising Tap Water As Better Than Bottled Water

Following legal threats from Nestle, the Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Department in Florida has pulled radio ads off the air that asserted the quality of its tap water as being better than bottled water. Reported by the Miami Herald, Nestle threatened legal action because the ad declared 'Miami-Dade's tap water as cheaper, purer and safer than bottled water.' A Nestle spokesperson responded that, ``It's an attack on the product we produce -- and it's blatantly wrong.'' An attack on a product they produce?

Food & Water Watch has blasted this claim and so should we! ''Nestle should be ashamed for harassing Miami for promoting its own water,'' said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Washington-based Food & Water Watch. ``This is just outrageous. It's just a way to scare off other utilities." Interestingly, these legal threats also seem to follow declining sales in the $11.7 billion bottled water industry.

Michigan residents have their own horror stories about the effect of Nestle's water depleting practices across the state. In Mecosta County, local residents and environmentalists sued Nestle (who bottles Ice Mountain water locally) for depleting and damaging aquifers and watersheds. In Detroit, private groups have long-sought to control one of the oldest and largest municipal water departments near the vast Great Lakes.

Read more about the Take Back the Tap Campaign from Food & Water Watch, and Take the Pledge to Take Back the Tap to promote and preserve public water! And see The Water Front film trailer for a snapshot of one Michigan community's effort to preserve its local water department and protect its residents against high costs and shutoffs.

"Can anyone really own water?"

That's the premise behind, FLOW--an award-winning documentary that interviews scientists and activists alike about the growing water privatization crisis and the world's dwindling fresh water supply. FLOW investigates the insidious $425 billion a year private water industry, and the short-sighted decisions by local governments and nations to sell their most basic and precious resource.

Like many others, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization believes water is a human right that no one has the right to profit from or own. In a region with nearly 20% of the world's fresh surface water supply, we know the irony of what it means to be without water in Michigan. In Detroit and Highland Park alone, thousands of families have had their water shut off for days, months, and even years (see The Water Front film on Highland Park, and Detroit Water Dept Pickets). The conditions that these persons have lived under mirror those found in third world nations--yet politicians don't want to tackle the tough questions of human rights, affordability, and infrastructure.

See FLOW's website for a list of cities where the film is screening along with more info on what you can do to protect this precious resource. Here's the FLOW trailer:

"The Water Front" Film Great Lakes Tour

Water bills costing several thousand dollars...low-income people without water in their homes...a city taken over by the state...and all of this taking place in the U.S.!

"The Water Front" documents the story of residents in Highland Park, Michigan--a neighboring Detroit town once envied for its beautiful homes and streets, and heralded as the birthplace of Henry Ford's automotive assembly line. Now it is a city on the verge of bankruptcy after the exodus of Ford Motor Company and Chrysler, and with a population unable to meet the costs of maintaining local services and needs.

This award-winning film by Liz Miller is touring the Great Lake states--30 cities (including east coast) and 40 universities--to bring attention to the plight of one community's struggle with economic collapse and aging infrastructures, and the remarkable resolve of its residents.

For the tour schedule and more see Food and Water Watch or The Water Front website. The Water Front trailer: