“Water is a human right under international human rights law, and must be available even to those who cannot afford to pay, yet the United States allows utilities to deny this basic service. The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of ready access to water, but thenUnited States government’s response to the pandemic has fallen short. Congress failed to enact a national moratorium on residential water disconnections, meaning that decision making authority for shutoffs and moratoriums remained at the state and local level. Only sixteen governors ordered statewide moratoria, and even fewer required water reconnections for households whose service had been previously suspended. Not only does the federal
government permit the dangerous practice of water shutoffs during a pandemic, but there are also no federal programs to assist low-income residents with the payment of water and sewer bills.”

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