Judge: Water Isn't a Constitutional Right

Plaintiffs may appeal a ruling Monday by federal bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, who said he lacks the authority to stop water shutoffs and that access to water isn’t a constitutional right. (Photo via Shutterstock)

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A federal bankruptcy judge on Monday refused to interrupt water shutoffs to thousands of Detroit residents with delinquent bills, reasoning citizens don’t have a constitutional right to free water, he doesn’t have the authority to intervene and the city can’t afford to lose the revenue.

“There is no such right or law,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes said after reading his ruling from the bench Monday, The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press report. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department were met by protesters as they began the shutoffs last summer in an attempt to clear nearly $91 million owed by 89,000 customers.

The American Civil Liberties Union-Michigan and NAACP Legal Defense Fund had asked Rhodes to stop the shutoffs, which affected residents who were more than 60 days late or $150 behind on a bill. Witnesses from advocacy groups testifying for the plaintiffs said mass shutoffs – about 19,000 in recent months – disproportionately hurt low-income households with senior citizens and children.

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In his ruling, Rhodes said he understands the effect of the water shutoffs in a city with a high poverty rate, but said his authority is strictly limited by the Chapter 9 bankruptcy rules and he couldn’t intervene even if water were basic constitutional right.

He said that as Detroit works to restructure its debt in the largest municipal bankruptcy case in history, “the last thing it needs is this hit to its revenues.”

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Alice Jennings, said that if the federal mediators could come up with a $815 million “grand bargain” to save the Detroit Art Institute’s priceless collection, they should be able to come up with a deal to make water more affordable to low-income residents.

“We need to evaluate how many people are without water and the safety and health risks involved,” said Jennings, who is considering an appeal of Rhodes’ ruling. “Come up with the grand bargain to save the health and safety of the children and seniors.”

She said plaintiffs never argued that “water had to be free.”

“Our position is the water had to be affordable,” she said. “We’re still looking for affordable water.”

Thousands of protesters – including officials with the United Nations, who called water access basic human right, and celebrities like the singer Cher – filled the streets in protest last summer. One of those taken into custody for practicing civil disobedience was Ecumenial Theological professor Jim Perkinson, who was arrested twice for blocking city trucks.

“Fifteen days makes a difference for people facing shut-offs, but what equally matters is what happens from here,” Perkinson said said at the time. “There can be a more humane way of sorting out those who generally need help.”