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Detroiters Line Up To Pay After Water Dept. Threat

Police were called to help control the crowd, Friday, when a long line formed outside the Detroit Water Department office on the city's west side.

Residents say the City of Detroit Water and Sewage Department sent letters to homeowners giving them ten days to make good on bills or face a lien on their property.

"If you don't come down here, they put a lien on your house. So that's one way for the city to get real quick money," said one Detroit resident.

The threat has brought people out by the dozens to Detroit's Water Department service center on Grand River near Greenfield.

"This is my third time driving by here this week and this has been just like this every single day," said a female resident.

Once inside, delinquent bill payers were told they needed cash, a money order, or certified check in the full amount to satisfy their past due bill.

Another resident told WWJ's Mike Campbell that she's contacted the mayor's office and the police department, "but no one seems to be concerned about the situation at hand."

(Copyright 2010 WWJ Radio. All Rights Reserved.)

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