WATER LIEN CRISIS. From [HERE] and [NAACP LDF] The NAACP Legal Defense Fund released this 16-page document Wednesday about the water affordability crisis in America's cities.

The NAACP LDF says its report provides a “framework for potential litigation” saying “litigation may be viable and appropriate to address municipal water practices” emphasizing “the human right to water" may provide a valuable framework for litigation in challenging unfair water practices.

The study examined water rates and policies in Cleveland and Baltimore and explored the “explicit link between race and water affordability” offering policy solutions for affordable, clean water as a right that should be shared by all.

It found “municipal discrimination in the provision of water services runs deep."

In Cuyahoga County, the NAACP LDF says "most water liens placed on homes in Cuyahoga County are located in majority-Black neighborhoods, which may lead to a devastating loss of home ownership in these communities."

The nation’s premier organization advocating racial equality and economic justice has found the Cleveland Division of Water engages in practices that “may lead to a devastating loss of home ownership” and “disproportionately impact people of color”.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund , founded in 1940, litigated the landmark Supreme Court case striking down racial discrimination in public schools, and it released this 16-page document Wednesday about the water affordability crisis in America's cities.

The NAACP LDF says its report provides a “framework for potential litigation” saying “litigation may be viable and appropriate to address municipal water practices” emphasizing “the human right to water" may provide a valuable framework for litigation in challenging unfair water practices.

The study examined water rates and policies in Cleveland and Baltimore and explored the “explicit link between race and water affordability” offering policy solutions for affordable, clean water as a right that should be shared by all.

It found “municipal discrimination in the provision of water services runs deep."

In Cuyahoga County, the NAACP LDF says "most water liens placed on homes in Cuyahoga County are located in majority-Black neighborhoods, which may lead to a devastating loss of home ownership in these communities."

It quickly brought a deluge of complaints from water customers complaining of being billed thousands of dollars for water they never used, failure to be informed of their rights before a water review board and most alarming—the widespread practice of issuing water tax liens on homeowners that can lead to foreclosure.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund says it “hopes to equip water equality advocates with sufficient context and background” and “ways to challenge and change local government actions that impeded Black access to water and sewer systems”.

Key findings:

*Clear connection between racial residential segregation and Black access to water systems

*Water tax liens in Cleveland in majority Black neighborhoods

*Water and Sewer lines can directly lead to foreclosure and eviction

The report concluded that “when appropriate, litigation and legislative reform should be aggressively pursued to tackle water injustices in communities across the nation”.