Since the first U.S. case of coronavirus, hundreds have died, more than 10,000 have been affected, and millions of people across the country are pulling together to fight the virus.
But even in the hardest-hit communities, some utilities are STILL shutting off water for customers who can’t afford to pay.
This is immoral and unsafe. Water utilities all over the country are ignoring federal guidelines and refusing to suspend shutoffs and restore water service.
Water must be turned on for everyone, right now, for the safety of the entire country. Food & Water Action was the first national group to fight back against water shutoffs, and we’re continuing to put massive pressure on local utilities to suspend shutoffs and urge Congress to pass a nationwide moratorium on water shutoffs.
The CDC’s #1 recommendation for how to stop this pandemic is for people to wash their hands, frequently, for 20 seconds. But a groundbreaking 2018 report by Food & Water Watch found that approximately 15 million people in the U.S. had their water cut off in a year. This disturbing practice is continuing in the midst of a global pandemic.
That means people across the country aren’t able to follow the simple — but crucial — advice to slow the spread of the coronavirus because they have no water to wash their hands.
A nursing home in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland was one of the first places to see the deadly impacts of coronavirus. And yet still the city refused to suspend water shutoffs. Other Seattle-area towns like Renton and Kent are refusing to suspend water shutoffs — and that’s in one of the states that has been hit the hardest.
These are not decisions that should be made on a case-by-case basis, one town at a time. We need national action NOW. Hours and days matter. Access to clean water is a human right. Period.
So far, because of your support and hard work, more than 289 communities have stopped water shutoffs, protecting 128 million Americans. But we need to continue to push for more. In the current emergency, turning off the water can be deadly.
Onward together,
Mary Grant
Public Water For All Campaign Director
Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch
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.
