In article >, says...
>
> On 4/17/2020 5:53 PM, Janet wrote:
> > In article >, says...
> >>
> >> On 4/17/2020 4:20 AM, Ophelia wrote:
> >>>
> >>> This morning I had a big shock!* There was a report on the radio that
> >>> many people in USA were having a difficult time because they don't have
> >>> water?????
> >>>
> >>> Is that true!* You have to pay water bills and if you don't, you will
> >>> have your water turned off????
> >>>
> >>> I have never heard of such a thing!!!!!** How on earth can those people,
> >>> at a time like this, manage with no water?????
> >>>
> >>
> >> Rare, but can happen. How many were shut off? Very few of the 320
> >> million of us.
> >
> >
> > FSV of "rare, very few"
> >
> > https://www.theguardian.com/environm...ns-us-at-risk-
> > losing-running-water-amid-layoffs-triggered-coronavirus-pandemic
> >
> >
> > " in 2016, one in every 20 households were disconnected by public
> > water departments, leaving an estimated 15 million Americans without
> > running water."
> >
> > In the coming downturn there's going to be a lot more unemployed
> > Americans at risk of unpaid water bills
> >
> > Janet UK
> >
> Sounds awfully high. Even in the low income areas it is rare to hear of
> it. But hey, have fun,

Here's the figures according to a nationwide survey of US water supply
companies.

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/ne...15-million-us-
residents-had-water-shut-2016

"Top findings of the survey include:

Fifteen utilities reported shutoff rates of more than 10 percent.
The states with the highest shutoff rates are mostly concentrated in
the South ? Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida.
Jacksonville, Florida?s high shutoff rate?16 percent?affected 41,311
households, or an estimated 107,409 people.
Phoenix, Arizona?s shutoff rate, 9 percent, affected over 33,000
households, or 94,000 people. Tucson, Arizona had the highest shutoff
rate in the West, at 11 percent.
High rates of shutoffs occurred in midwestern states including South
Dakota, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.
There is no data for four states including New Jersey and West
Virginia, where private companies operate the two largest utilities.
Only one private company responded to the survey, representing a 9
percent response rate. The response rate of public utilities was 93
percent.
The highest shutoff rates were disproportionately in cities with
more people living in poverty, more unemployment and more people of
color.

While the average city with the most shutoffs is low-income, not all
low-income cities engage in mass shutoffs. Jackson, Mississippi had high
rates of poverty (31 percent) and a zero percent shutoff rate. Jackson
has not had a water or sewer rate increase since voters approved an
increase to the sales tax to help improve the city?s infrastructure.
Meanwhile, some cities surveyed, like Eau Claire, Wisconsin and
Leominster, Massachusetts do not shut off water service for non-payment
at all."

Janet UK