New report shows water shutoffs disproportionately affect poor residents in Buffalo
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A new report done by the Partnership for the Public Good (PPG), an organization based in Buffalo, shows that water shutoffs in the city of Buffalo disproportionately affect low-income residents.
PPG said the city isn't doing enough to help people pay for their water bills before pulling the plug.
"The stories that we've gathered through this project are really shocking to know," said Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, the executive director of PPG.
Researchers at PPG investigated the issue of water shutoffs in Buffalo after receiving complaints. PPG looked at data from 2019 and found nearly 3,000 water shutoffs that year.
Zip codes with the highest shutoffs rates are on the east side in zip codes 14208, 14215 and 14211. Behind these areas are Black Rock-Riverside and the west side.
"Sadly the results were not very surprising. Buffalo has a long history of segregation coupled with income inequality," said Anna Blatto, a PPG research associate. "We had to go through thousands of pages, scanned PDFs to identify the addresses that these attempted shutoffs took place at. The worksheets also provided the balance of the account."
Experts said this issue comes down to water prices rising for years while incomes for families are not keeping up.
"The issue here goes beyond just economics, it's about ensuring water, which is a basic human right, is accessible to everybody," Blatto said.
Researchers said in some cases, they also found inhumane conditions for some city residents and recounted one man's story.
"He said, 'I had to let go of one utility, I just couldn't pay them all,' so he lived with bottled water and catching rain water under his roof for 16 months," Súilleabháin said.
There are programs out there to help residents with their water bills, but the report said those programs are based on the city's median income, not the income in more disadvantaged zip codes.
"We're not doing enough to tailor to what do people make, what can a household really afford?" Súilleabháin said. "Cities like Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia have put in what's called income-based payment."
PPG said the city of Buffalo should look into those models in other cities.
WIVB News 4 reached out for comment from Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon's office several times. We've also reached out to Buffalo Water, but have not heard back.
The full report can be found here.
Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.