Fighting to stop water shutoffs

The People’s Tribune interviewed Rev. Bill-Wylie Kellermann, a leader in the struggle to stop the water shutoffs in Detroit, MI.
People’s Tribune: Tell us about the actions around the water shutoffs.
Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellermann: A private company, Homrich Demolition, was contracted by the Emergency Manager to do 129,000 shutoffs, 3,000 a week. In July, we did the first of two direct actions blocking trucks from going out to shut off water. We blocked the gates for a couple of hours. All of a sudden, the police moved in. People sat down in front of the truck and were dragged. The next weekend we blocked the gates for 7 ½ hours before police moved to arrest us. That’s the action that they’re prosecuting 9 of us for now. We’re called the “Homrich 9.”
PT: Will there be a jury trial?
BK: There may be 4 or 5 separate jury trials. We’ve filed discovery motions asking for information from the city on the number of shutoffs and where they are, stating we need this information for our defense. Our argument is that we had to do these actions as a matter of moral and legal necessity. In the summer, National Nurses United came and made a public declaration that water shutoffs are a health crisis. The next court date is February. The trials will be in March.
PT: Why did they arrest you?
BK: That same day there were 1500 people in the streets of downtown Detroit protesting the water shutoffs. The timing suggests they decided to arrest us or more people might join.
PT: What role has Detroit’s Emergency Manager (EM) played in the water cutoffs?
BK: The EM affects everything. The whole city, including the water department, was under the EM at this time. The impetus for shutoffs was coming from him as well as the bankruptcy into which he and the governor had put the city of Detroit. The shutoffs were in part to make the water department more desirable, either as an asset for full privatization and sale or for regionalization under the Great Lakes Water Authority. Aspects of the sewage treatment and other things have been contracted out to private contractors. Union workers are concerned that people will come in that don’t know what they’re doing. It’s designed to weaken and break the unions. The threat was that they would sell the entire thing to a private corporation. A French corporation, Viola, (formerly Viviendo) which did a lot of work regarding water in the occupied territories in Palestine, had such a bad reputation they changed their name. Viola has been contracted by Great Lakes Water Authority as a consultant and will likely be contracted to run the water department. This is the direction things are moving.
PT: What’s the solution?
BK: In 2005, strong members of the city council voted for a water affordability plan which would have set rates according to people’s ability to pay. It could still be operationalized for the whole region to insure the human right to access to water. I believe this is an asset that belongs to the city of Detroit as part of the commons. The people of Detroit need to hold it as a public trust.