DETROIT, MI — A Detroit tenant says he went a full week without running water after service was shut off at his home on Selden Street, leaving him to depend on bottled water while he tried to get answers. Donald Owens said the problem started after he took a shower one night and woke up the next morning to find the faucets dry.
Owens said he pays rent on time and that water is included in that rent. He said crews returned Saturday and restored service in part, but the laundry room still had no running water and pressure at the kitchen and bathroom sinks remained low. By the time he spoke publicly, he said the dispute had already stretched into a second water outage this year.
What The City Says
Detroit’s Water and Sewerage Department said the account involved more than $5,000 in unpaid charges and put the figure at $5,352. The department said the landlord entered into a payment plan on Friday, six days after the shutoff, and said staff had trouble reaching the landlord before and after that arrangement was made.
Mutual Property Management gave a different account. The company said the water was shut off so repairs could be made at a vacant unit on the same row of homes, and said payment plans were already in place when it took over the properties. The company said it did not know money was owed until after service was restored, but it declined to provide more detail.
Why The Dispute Grew
The competing explanations left Owens stuck in the middle of a billing fight he said had nothing to do with his own rent payments. He said the lack of service made daily life difficult and that friends and family brought bottled water so he could stay in the home while he tried to learn why the shutoff happened.
Owens also said this was not the first time he had been without water in the house. He said he previously went 14 or 15 days without service in February, making this latest outage part of a broader pattern rather than a one-off interruption. After the latest shutoff, a DWSD worker also came by to check the situation before the department sent crews back out.
What Residents Can Do
Detroit water officials said the full pressure has now been restored, but they also said the remaining problem in the laundry room appears to be private plumbing, not a city service issue. DWSD said clogged faucet aerators, the small screens on faucets, were slowing the water stream in the home.
For tenants who run into a similar problem, the department said residents should contact their city council representative. Owens said he did exactly that on the morning the story aired. The case still leaves open questions about how quickly landlords, managers, and the water department can resolve shutoffs when tenants say they are paying on time and have no direct control over the bill.
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