Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr handed over control of the city’s water system to the mayor this week following protests and international outcry at the shut off of water to tens of thousands of households that had fallen behind on their bills. While many are celebrating the transfer of power as a partial victory, organizers warn that Detroiters are not in the clear.

“There are still all these unanswered questions,” DeMeeko Williams, coordinator for the Detroit Water Brigade, told Common Dreams. “Now that water is in control of the city, will it be part of the public commons? Now that the mayor has control of the water department, what is his plan?”

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Orr issued an order Monday that transferred control of the the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to newly elected Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who will be responsible for appointing people to the water board. The order cites the “best interests of the City” as the reason for the transfer.

In a statement on Tuesday, Duggan said he “welcomed” the move and plans to “have a new plan shortly.” But he appeared to cast blame for the crisis on residents who have fallen behind on water payments, stating, “When some Detroit residents don’t pay their bills, those bills have to be paid by other Detroiters.” He added that “all bills that remain uncollected this year must be paid for by higher rates on all Detroiters next year.”

With an unemployment rate near 40 percent, and ever-rising water expenses for consumers, nearly half of Detroit residents are behind on their water payments.

Shea Howell of the People’s Water Board told Common Dreams that Duggan’s comments scapegoat the poor and working-class people being denied their “human right to water” and do not acknowledge Detroit’s long-term grassroots push for a Water Affordability Plan. “Duggan ignores the fact that many of those not paying their bills are corporate entities,” Howell added.