It is the latest setback in the state of Michigan which is already dealing with the consequences of contaminated tap water in Flint and other communities.
With the taps turned off, Detroit students and staff will be relying on bottled water that will cost about US$200,000 over two months, after which the district will probably seek bids for a longer-term contract, said Detroit Public Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.
“There has been an undertone of not trusting the water to begin with,” Mr Vitti told The Associated Press.
The old plumbing and water infrastructure is decaying, becoming dangerous and local cash-strapped governments are struggling to find a solution.
Detroit is not the first major school district to switch to bottled water.
We give tax cuts to the rich that explode the deficit & in Detroit we have kids in schools with no water.
We are becoming a third world country.
She is far from the only one to make the third world comparison.
Source:AP In Flint, Michigan, residents have been dealing with the issue of toxic water for more than four years.
“But when lead, a poison to the nervous system, gets into drinking water — as happened in Flint, Michigan — the heavy metal can cause irreparable harm.” In the US, only eight states require lead-in-water testing in schools and Michigan is not among them.