Ban on US water shutoffs could have prevented thousands of Covid deaths - study

[DonViejo]

Source: The Guardian



Researchers say half a million infections might have been stopped if more states had suspended disconnections during pandemic

Nina Lakhani in New York
Fri 26 Mar 2021 09.00 EDT

A national moratorium on water shutoffs could have prevented almost half a million Covid infections and saved at least 9,000 lives, according to new research.

Good hygiene is essential to preventing the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. Amid pressure from public health experts and rights groups, hundreds of utilities and states suspended disconnections for overdue bills to ensure households kept running water for hand-washing and sanitation.

But many refused, others let the bans expire after a few months, and Congress refused to step in with a national moratorium. By the end of 2020, 211 million Americans – including a disproportionate number of households of color – faced the threat of having their taps turned off during the worst public health and economic crisis in modern history.

This patchwork protection cost thousands of American lives between April and December last year, according to research by Cornell University and the national advocacy group Food & Water Watch (FWW).

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/26/water-shutoffs-moratorium-covid-pandemic-study

[FakeNoose]

1. Wait, what?

The population of the United States is something like 310 million people. This article says 211 million - roughly two/thirds of our entire population - is in danger of having their water shut off?

The number seems a little high, but I do agree it's something that needs to be addressed urgently. Joe Biden's Infrastructure bill will address clean water needs for the future. However the urgent problem is that many lower income households are desperately without water right now. Or they face a shutoff of utilities in the near future. I doubt that it's two/thirds of of the USA though.

[ancianita]

3. This is what corporate control of utilities looks like.

[hardluck]

4. The article, not the report, is misleading

That number stuck out to me as well. The actual report says “As of December 2020, 65 percent of the country — 211 million people — were not covered under a state-issued moratorium [on water shut offs].” That is different from how the guardian describes the number.

[IronLionZion]

6. Even the Guardian has gotten sloppy lately

they've been a good source of news in the past but now they just seem lazy

[róisín_dubh]

12. They've been pretty back the last few months...

sensationalist at times as well, which nobody needs at the moment.

[Submariner]

2. Remember pay toilets?

In that time of stress to do something essential, you have to have that nickel or dime to get on the other side of that pay lock door to pee.

This feels like the same thing. Pay up under duress for what is essential, or get sick and die. Absolutely pathetic.

[area51]

5. This country is so libertarian.

If you can't pay up, whether it's for needed water or healthcare, you may die.

[BobTheSubgenius]

7. Was it the right move, business-wise? Isn't that the question?

Granted, neither shutting off the water nor letting it flow was going to catch up delinquent accounts, so what then? Reconnection fees! Total win!

Why is everyone so upset?

[LymphocyteLover]

8. Water shutoffs are a crime against humanity

[VGNonly]

9. Are there no prisons,

no workhouses...? It's time to reduce the surplus populations!!!

[Rollo]

10. Fortunately California has a governor who prevented such shutoffs last April

[link:https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2021/01/water-debt-california-households-face-water-shutoffs/|

I've lived here since '63, but was unaware that people were in danger of getting their water shutoff. In general water bills are much less that gas/electricity bills, but in a pandemic it all can be too much to pay. As the article says,

The unpaid water bills total $1 billion, according to new data from the State Water Resources Control Board. That may dwarf statewide rental debt, which the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office pegged at $400 million.

Californian’s water debt crisis, which Newsom called a “critical issue” on Monday, represents another pandemic ripple effect that jeopardizes basic human needs in the face of disaster: a shelter from the virus, safe water to drink and wash hands.

“Water to us is the most basic form of PPE,” said Jonathan Nelson, policy director for the nonprofit Community Water Center.

Water debt and potential shutoffs weigh most heavily on low-income communities of color, who suffer disproportionately from job loss and coronavirus itself. Meanwhile, unpaid bills threaten smaller water systems serving rural, poor areas.

[ck4829]

11. K&R

[Maxheader]

13. The russkys messing with utilities...

Software hacking..