VIDEO: Meet DeMeeko Williams, A Man Working To Get Water Turned Back On For Detroiters

A recent study here in Detroit linked greater health issues for those who’ve had their water shut off.

And there are a lot of water shutoffs in the city.

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) can’t tell us yet the number of water shutoffs so far this year but Bridge Magazine, a Detroit Journalism Cooperative partner, reported that last year more than 27,000 Detroit homes had their water shut off because of unpaid bills.

DWSD estimates as of now, because of new leadership, less than one thousand households are at risk of water shutoffs for non-payment, and 98 percent of them get their water turned back on in 24 hours, most in the same day, because the residents worked out a payment plan or got financial help from the Water Residential Assistance Program.

In the above story reported by Will Glover and produced by Bill Kubota for Detroit Public Television’s One Detroit, we followed community advocate DeMeeko Williams of Hydrate Detroit as he visits two people who need help turning their water back on, including one who’s past due bill adds up to many thousands of dollars.