WASHINGTON, D.C. – Days before Michigan’s water shutoff moratorium ends, Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) and Debbie Dingell (MI-12) renewed their calls for a nationwide water shutoff moratorium. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the lawmakers raised urgent concerns about the impact of skyrocketing water debt and the potential for widespread water shutoffs causing devastating health risks.

“Water is life. Water is an essential public good, especially in a pandemic. Access to clean and affordable drinking water is a basic human right, and we have a moral obligation to ensure no American is denied this right. States across this county are already loosening COVID-19 public safety restrictions and water shutoff moratoriums will be ending,” wrote the lawmakers. “This is alarming and deeply troubling, since COVID-19 is still spreading rampantly throughout communities in the United States and the public has consistently been told for over a year that washing our hands with soap and water is essential to stopping the spread. This need to guarantee access to water is further underscored by new research from Cornel University and Food & Water Watch that found that a robust nationwide water shutoff moratorium for the duration of the pandemic would have prevented nearly 500,000 COVID-19 infections and saved the lives of approximately 9,000 Americans. 

“Therefore, we strongly urge you and your administration to take any and all actions within your power to institute a national water shutoff moratorium that would extend, at least, through the end of the COVID-19 global health pandemic,” they continued.

To read Tlaib and Dingell’s letter, please click here. To learn more about the Emergency Water is a Human Right Act, click here.