Urge Congress to support a national moratorium on water shutoffs!
John,
Currently, people across the country are not able to wash their hands because their water service is turned off.
This is horrifying, especially during this critical time when the most widely endorsed strategy to prevent or manage the coronavirus (COVID-19) is to wash our hands frequently.
The pandemic is making it all the more clear: water access is critical for public health. We all deserve access to water in order to be able to keep ourselves and our communities safe.
In 2018, our research found that an estimated 15 million people in the United States experienced a water shutoff in one year due to nonpayment of water bills.¹
Shutoffs occur primarily in communities of color with higher poverty levels and low-income communities. Households that were shut off are now struggling to prevent the rampant spread of the coronavirus, as well as prevent their own families from becoming sick, because they don’t have running water to wash their hands.
But we’re working to change this. So far, more than 100 cities across the country have stopped water shutoffs, including New Orleans, Jacksonville, Detroit and Columbia.²
This is a growing movement, but we need more cities across the country on board, and we need our federal government to step up and ensure that everyone's access to water is protected. In the midst of a global pandemic like the coronavirus, it’s time to guarantee access to clean and affordable water for all.
Food & Water Action and its affiliated organization, Food & Water Watch, are advocacy groups with a common mission to protect our food, water and climate. This email was sent to [email protected] - and we're glad you got it, because it's one of the most important ways you can reclaim political power, hold elected officials accountable and resist corporate control.
