Street roots., April 27, 2018, Page 5, Image 5

Street Roots • April 27-May 3, 2018
WATER, from page 4
N ew s
Page 5
WATER FACTS: PORTLAND VS. DETROIT
school students. So the very water, life-
PORTLAND
DETROIT
giving system that half the state relies on
now has substandard management and
oversight of the very system that was once a
world-class system. What happened in
Detroit was, as they were rushing to seize
the water department during the biggest
contrived bankruptcy in the history of
America, the largest asset was the water
department, and Flint was the largest
*Water accounts for only a third of the billing amount. The rest is fees from the
external customer to the water department.
Bureau of Environmental Services which manages stormwater, sewage and
You had the city of Detroit offer Flint a
Portland Harbor fees.
water contract that would have actually
Sources: Portland Water Bureau, U.S. Census, The Detroit News
saved Flint $80 million over the course of
10 years. But you have the governor and the
use of this private company that is
vindictive, and they were worried that he
point, the mayor was wanting to take over
interested in privatizing water globally
would close those contracts if they stepped
control of the Detroit public schools. We
out with us and made this information
organized for five weeks, showed up with
actually advise Flint to purchase and invest
public.
in building their own water system, which
our children; we resisted that austerity and
were successful.
was KWA, the Karegnondi Water Authority.
E.G.: Last week, free bottled water for Flint
Little did we know that was just part of
Well, that system was never intended to
was discontinued, with the state citing two
the canary in the mine of what else they
provide potable water. What it was intended
years of test results showing the water is now
had in store for us. Over 80 percent of the
to do was provide water for when the
safe, but the mayor of Flint is threatening to
bankruptcy was on the back of pensioners.
governor is out of office - he already has
sue over the cutoff This is the narrative we’re
We had no idea this was really a large
plans to create a parallel system for
getting in the national news. What do you see
fracking!
scheme to take over and gentrify land and to
as being the issue on the
also take control over the
When you look at what has played out in
ground there? Is the
largest asset and one of
both Detroit and Flint, the communities
water safe, and is this
the most key assets of
have been driven deeper into debt. They
becoming an issue of
North America because
have less power over their municipal
affordability as much as
What:
Going
Beyond
the
Flint
Detroit sits on
governance. They have less say-so in terms
it is about lead
international waters.
of their assets, and both cities right now are
poisoning?
Also, 23 percent of
suffering from either the lack of access to
M.L.P.:
It’s
both.
It’s
commerce that comes
clean, safe and affordable water or the fact
affordability
and
it’s
into the country comes
that Flint is being forced to pay for poison
poisoning.
It’s
not
just
in by way of Detroit.
water. What is even more egregious than
K n o w in g t h o s e d y n a m ic s ,
le a d a n d c o n ta m in a n ts
what I already said is the fact that if you
in the water; there’s
we knew that we were in
don’t have running water in your household
also other toxins.
the crosshairs of big
for 72 hours or more, you’re in jeopardy of
business and the
There’s phosphates.
losing custody of your children! They are
oligarchs in terms of
There are bacteria
threatening people if they can’t pay these
seizing control of our
issues. So what you
enormous water rates, then they will lose
entire city. Out of that
have is the very person
their children. For poor folks, that’s the
work, my business
that had come into the
most valuable asset that you have is your
partner and I, who is also
community, Marc
children. It’s your hope; it’s your belief
another founder of We
Edwards, as an ally and
there will be a better day. In order to get
the People of Detroit, we begin to work on
an advocate for the people is actually now
people to move out of the city of Detroit.
policy work for what I consider one of the
on the payroll of the governor. So we
Because right now they are waging a
greatest legislators of the history of Detroit,
believe he’s been bought and paid for at this
comeback, but that comeback is happening
the honorable council member JoAnn
point, so therefore the community can no
on the backs of working and poor folk.
Watson, and out of that work there was a
longer trust his independent opinion. I
We’re sitting right now in the middle of a
rude awakening about what people were
believe the mayor is right on point with the
public health crisis. We have a hepatitis A
being told and what was really happening.
position he is taking, which is to pursue
epidemic. We have also had an uptick of
You had key cursors acting as the mayor
litigation, because the governor is in his last
cholera, an uptick of listeria. Some of these
and a City Council that was working in
year of his second term and his position is,
diseases are directly correlated with
concert with big business to give away these
he wants to be able to take a victory lap, if
waterborne diseases. You have on top of
assets. We begin, that day, working on our
you will. So part of that victory lap would be
that the fact that in Detroit, we have an
behalf to support her pushback against
impeded with the narrative that Flint is still
older, concentrated population. Many of
emergency management. At night we were
having to consume bottled water. So what
them are elders that deal with respiratory
organizing, on our free time, with other
better way to make that narrative go away
problems. You have a large population of
community activists to build community
than to make the bottled water go away.
children that are asthmatic, so many of
power to resist it. In 2013, a community
What we know on the ground is my
them have breathing issues that require
activist, Charity Hicks, was arrested for just
organization, one of the first organizations
water and require cleaning.
knocking on the door of her neighbors and
to deliver water relief to Flint. We have
There is a major issue around people
friends to tell them there was imminent
continued to support water relief to Flint.
being clinically dehydrated. We were the
danger of having their water cut off. She
We will not stop until there is a restoration
community from the grass roots that had to
was arrested and actually jailed.
of water relief to Flint.
raise the question within the health system
For me, being a black woman and a
E.G.: I read that We the People delivered
and Global Health Initiative to begin to even
mother, it became a personal assault on
more than 125 tons of safe, drinkable water to
look at the correlation of the uptick of these
black women and on black families. We
the
residents
of
Detroit
and
Flint
in
2015.
Can
infectious diseases and the fact the
organized ourselves in about three or four
you tell me a little bit more about your
community didn’t have water. Of course
days. I had past experience around
organization and how you’re able to do this?
they push back on that issue once we got
emergency response. I headed up an eight-
the evidence because Henry Ford
M.L.P.: My organization was founded in
county emergency response team for
(Foundation) told us that they knew the
2008 by myself and four other women. Each
children who were having psychiatric
data was correct, that they supported the
of those women has an incredible resume in
emergencies. We took that model and
actions we were taking, but they had $2.2
flipped it over to providing emergency
their own right, but at the time, we were
billion in contracts with Mayor (Mike)
just fighting for our children to have the
Duggan and the city of Detroit, and the
right to quality public education. At that
See WATER, page 7
mayor has a reputation of being very
IF
GO
BY EMILY CREBBI!I
S EN IO R STAFF REPORTER
MWMMMWM
upcoming
JL .
B iffi
is
worries
increase costs to
communities in Portland.
This concern comes as
Water Bureau works to install a
microorganism, in
the Bull Run Watershed.
According to Cahill, the new system
will “cost taxpayers more money and
raise our water bills.”
Portland Water Bureau
spokesperson Jaymee Cuti confirmed
that this upgrade will likely increase
c o s ts , h o w e v e r t h e c ity i s lo o k in g to
expand its water assistance program in
response. (See “Portland’s proposed
water assistance expansion.”)
“Over the past 10 years, the city’s
total water use has decreased by 13 ,
18 percent due to increasing water use
efficiency by Portland water
customers,” explained Cuti. “The
m
is
in
that use more
than their allocated monthly amount of
water pay higher rates to subsidize
low-income ratepayers. Allocations are
typically based on the number of
people in the household and other
factors. She said this would make the
city’s billing system more equitable,
in some
country, such as by Inland Empire
Utilities Agency in San Bernardino
County, Calif.
Another focus of Recode’s policy­
making efforts is the utilization of
Greywater is the dirty water that