Water
All Cleveland residents deserve access to clean, safe water.
Clevelanders live within miles of Lake Erie, one of the world’s largest freshwater resources. Yet some residents face challenges accessing clean, safe, and affordable water. Residents have seen sharp water rate increases in recent years and changes to billing cycles (quarterly to monthly). Low-income residents are disproportionately affected by these changes. The global pandemic has highlighted the call for clean and safe water as a basic human right, with many metro areas placing moratoriums on water shutoffs due to an inability to pay. Improvements to drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater infrastructure are necessary to abate lead contamination and to protect Cleveland’s vital freshwater resources from growing environmental pressures.
Questions to Ask Candidates:
Do you commit to stopping residential water shutoffs by 2025?
The Cleveland Water Department and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District are setting new rates. What steps will you take to make sure that residents can afford their bills?
Will you support the creation of a new grant program to provide low-income homeowners with funding for lead service line replacement in their homes? Will you make in-home water testing more available to residents?