Gwendolyn Gains and Warrington Bryant
Michigan Welfare Rights Union
Detroit, MI
“Not having water has also meant that it's harder for Warrington to stay cool in the summer... This means that he tends to have more seizures”
The water in Warrington’s house was shut off in 1995. His brother was living in the house at the time, and the water was probably shut off for nonpayment of the bill.
When Warrington and Gwen took possession of the house on September 1, 2001, there was still no water. They were told that they would have to pay the brother’s bill of over $800, since the water bill stays will the house regardless of the inhabitants. The water meter was also broken and lying in the corner of the basement when Warrington and Gwen took possession of the house.
With assistance from Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Gwen and Warrington tried to make arrangements with the Water Dept. for a monthly payment plan. However, when the inspector from the Water Dept. came to the house, he said that the electrical box was too close to the water pipes, and that the box would have to be moved before the water service could be restored.
It took Gwen and Warrington a while to save up the money to get the electrical box moved, but they did this. When they called the Water Dept. to tell them that this had been done, the worker at the Water Dept. claimed to have no record of any arrangement for a monthly payment plan for the outstanding bill. The Water Department then sent someone to remove the broken meter, and they added $250 to Gwen and Warrington’s bill as a charge for the meter.
Warrington and Gwen’s water bill has continued to go up, despite the fact that they have not had a single moment of water service in all of this time. Their bill is now $1347.00.
Over the past five years, Gwen and Warrington have been living at Gwen’s mother’s house and working on repairing their house slowly but surely. It has been very, very difficult for them to wash, cook, or wash dishes at the house all that time. They have been able to borrow and/or buy water from some of their neighbors in order to have some water for drinking and cleaning. One neighbor in particular has been extremely supportive of them, letting them take water from him even when they couldn’t afford to pay him for it. They also sometimes buy bottled water when they can afford it.
Since there are no working toilets in the house, the men go to the bathroom outside, and Gwen uses a bucket. She tries not to eat or drink very much during the day so she won’t have to go to the bathroom too much before they get back to her mother’s house. On occasion, they also have been able to use a neighbor’s bathroom.
All of this traveling back and forth to Gwen’s mother’s house has been very hard on them, especially since they don’t have a car. They’ve been borrowing a car from Gwen’s mother, but this has also become difficult as the cost of gas as gotten to be so high.
Not having water has also meant that it’s harder for Warrington to stay cool in the summer. This means that he tends to have more seizures than he otherwise would.
At the present time, despite the fact that Warrington and Gwen were finally able to make all the repairs that the Water Department insisted that make and even though the Water Department has finally come and put in a new water meter, the house still has no water, and the Water Department has left a gaping hole in Gwen and Warrington’s yard. It’s hard to say how much more time it will take until the problems with their water service are resolved. In the meantime, they continue to be determined to fight for their right to have water!