Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Baltimore's Delinquent Water Bills Tap a Wellspring of Concern

Maryland law states that a child that is “neglected” may be taken out of his or her home and put into foster care. One characteristic of “neglect” as defined by the Maryland Department of Human Resources is a child with “consistently poor hygiene” that is “un-bathed, [having] unwashed or matted hair, noticeable body odor.”

“I love my kids, and I’d do anything for them,” Rita told ThinkProgress. “But if I turn on the shower or the sink and there’s no water, how can I give them a bath?”

Food and Water Watch researcher Mary Grant explained that making water unavailable to residents is a major health risk, and that if Baltimore were to deprive 25,000 households of water, diseases would have a high chance of propagating throughout densely-populated neighborhoods.

“There is direct risk associated with lack of access to water,” Grant told ThinkProgress. “When you lose your water service, you lose water to wash your hands to flush the toilet, there is risk of disease spreading.”

More

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes. Water is vitally important.

SO PAY YOUR STINKIN' BILL!!

I'm so sick of people that just cruise through life and don't accept any responsibility, then break out in drama when the inevitable results come.

Why does it keep happening?

Because they get away with it, time after time. Rescuer/enabler types bail them out. They have absolutely no incentive to change.

And the enablers are just as sick-- they do it so they can feel 'needed' and valuable, and like they've done something very important.

These two types feed off of each other in a sick symbiosis.

Anonymous said...

it's called a job get one! that's how I pay for my water! shoulda thought of that before you started pumping out future leeches like yourself!

Anonymous said...

Why can't they simply deduct a certain amount each month from their welfare/EBT/food stamps toward their unpaid water bill, to keep it on?

Anonymous said...

Why aren't they cutting off water to the 350+ BUSINESSES that haven't paid their bills?