Water. H20. Aqua. It is something a lot of Americans take for granted and don’t think about the process of how we get it on a regular basis. No one really thinks about the cost of water, because on the list of bills to be paid, it is pretty cheap.

Water isn’t an issue unless you are in Detroit. Due to crumbling infrastructure, economic decline, and population disbursement, over the past year or so the city of Detroit has been cutting off the water of families who do not pay their water bills. At first glance, most Americans would agree that that is a proper fix to the issue. If someone isn’t paying for the good, then they don’t get it -- makes perfect sense. That is an obvious logical leap, but the issue is that this is not just a good, even though we monetize it; this is water. Water is a huge part of human dignity and survival, and it can’t just be taken away.

The United Nations issued a statement against the United States and the lack of water access:

“Without water, people cannot live a life with dignity—they have no water for drinking, cooking, bathing, flushing toilets and keeping their clothes and houses clean. Despite the fact that water is essential for survival, the city has no data on how many people have been and are living without tap water, let alone information on age, disabilities, chronic illness, race or income level of the affected population.

Denial of access to sufficient quantity of water threatens the rights to adequate housing, life, health, adequate food, integrity of the family. It exacerbates inequalities, stigmatizes people and renders the most vulnerable even more helpless. Lack of access to water and hygiene is also a real threat to public health as certain diseases could widely spread.”

So if the U.N. has called us out, why has there been such little action or coverage of the issue?

Over 15,000 households have had their water turned off. That is not just 15,000 people but families. That could be well over 30,000 adults and children without water. Part of the issue is that the rich white men at the top of this decision have seen the improvement in the water bills being paid, but this isn’t because all of a sudden people aren’t struggling for money or survival. Their bills being paid just means they are starving or taking loans from friends and family. Not only are families being denied water, but they are also afraid that they will be split up because they are not supporting their family correctly, which is a sick irony. The government has enough resources to take children but cannot forgive water debts, which would save many families from needing the government to come in and take the children.

This whole thing brings into question what it means to be a developed democracy. How can America stand to brag about human rights when there are people who cannot gain access to the most basic and vital resource: water.