Agency: Funding To Help Detroit Water Customers Running Out

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - An agency says funding for a program to help low-income customers of southeastern Michigan's water system is running out of money to help Detroit residents.

Mia Cupp, spokeswoman for the Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, which runs the program on behalf of the regional Great Lakes Water Authority, tells the Detroit Free Press Detroiters are being told to call back in October in case more funding arrives.

"It pains me that when people call us, we cannot come to their aid," Cupp told the newspaper.

Since May, about 13,000 people have had their water shut off for non-payment.

The Water Residential Assistance Program started this year to help people avoid water shutoffs. Activists predicted, however, that the program wouldn't be an adequate solution because too many Detroit residents can't afford to pay water bills.

The authority allocated $1.2 million for the program in Detroit through the end of February. It's part of $4.5 million for the program in southeastern Michigan.

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