20% of the world’s fresh water is in the Great Lakes and Detroit has a water treatment plant worth billions that processes that water. Detroit, a majority African American city, has been under attack for decades to privatize this precious resource. This film shows who is trying to privatize it, how the bankruptcy was used to move it toward privatization, and how mass water shut offs and inflated water prices affect impoverished Detroiters.
Film length: 40 minutes
Resources about Detroit and Water
- The People’s Water Board – Detroit
- Mackinac Policy Center: privatization of Detroit’s water department
- According to Al Jazeera in 2014 , Detroiters pay almost double the national average. (https://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/6/22/detroit-water-un.html)
- Detroit Shows Wall Street Never Loses on Bad Swaps from Businessweek about how the banks profited off the swaps.
- Boil Water Alert: the GLWA doesn’t care about Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park
- Great Lakes Water Authority
- Pittsburgh and Veolia from Mother Jones
- Veolia quitting Berlin Water
- Pay Rent or Drink Water: The Human Rights Crisis in Detroit Escalates
- Detroit Needs Affordable Water, Not More Shutoffs (2017)
- Detroit water shut-offs resume — and residents continue to struggle with bills
- Get Water! We the People of Detroit
- What Is It Like to Live Without Running Water? Detroit Families Know