Detroit residents can't pay their water bills, activists lobby U.N. for help

Activists in Detroit have begun lobbying the United Nations to step in and solve the city’s water troubles, in which half of residents cannot or are not willing to pay their water bills on time.

Detroit Water and Sewerage Department spokeswoman Curtrise Garner said it’s not the department’s goal to shut off people’s water, but bills need to be paid.

“We want people’s water on, just like they do; but you do have to pay for your water. … That’s the bottom line,” she told CBS’s Detroit affiliate.

“We do have programs that do help those that are just totally in need; can’t afford it — but we also know that there are also people who can’t afford it would can not pay and we know this because, once we shut water off, the next day they are in paying the bill in full. So we do know that that has become a habit as well,” she said.

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