By Marissa Luna

Kevin Orr, Governor Snyder’s appointed Emergency Manager, began depriving thousands of Detroiters of water last summer. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is going to continue to shut off water to tens of thousands of families in Detroit in the coming months. This is happening despite the fact that we know it’s not just Detroiters not paying their water bills that’s to blame, but that DWSD officials forgot to bill one-third of the utility’s customers for sewage several years ago.

Residents in Flint are being forced to drink contaminated tap water after officials decided to start pulling water from the Flint River rather than the Detroit water system that had served the city for years.

Meanwhile, local elected leaders from Detroit and Flint apparently think it’s a great idea to allow a traveling water entertainment company from Utah called Slide the City to bring a giant water slide to Detroit and Flint this summer and charge $15-$25 for a single ride.

Setting up a huge slip and slide is disrespectful to both the people of Detroit who are fighting to keep their water on and bills affordable and the residents of Flint who are fighting for access to clean water, but local leaders still have a chance to show that they have the right priorities.

Local elected leaders in Detroit should require that Slide the City donate the proceeds to the fund to help people pay their water bills and leaders in Flint should put the proceeds toward updating Flint’s drinking water infrastructure.