Water shutoff in Detroit

Today we're going back to the great American city of Detroit and to share this latest drama

After Detroit turned off water for thousands of residents, activists are calling on the United Nations for help in what they've called a "massive human rights atrocity."

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department said in March that they would begin shutting off service to more than 150,000 customers who were behind in their bills, according to the Detroit Free Press. With 323,000 total customers, nearly half are late on their bills, or cannot afford water. A water department report states the utility sent 44,000 warnings in April and 3,000 customers have had their water shut off.

A coalition of groups including the Detroit People's Water Board, Food and Water Watch, Blue Planet Project and Michigan Welfare Rights Organization submitted a report to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation last week, saying they are "outraged about the violation of the human right to water and sanitation in the City of Detroit and call on the authorities to take immediate action to restore water services and stop further cut-offs."

We already know Detroit is a struggling city and certainly could use the cash from water bill payments. Certainly we all sympathize with those who definitely could use the water whatever their situation might be.

I think I understand going to the UN regarding this action. When people complain they want to go as high as possible. At the same time I sometimes have found the UN to be a useless organization.

Still here's hoping those affected Detroit residents get their water turned back on.