Detroit enclave built on auto industry struggles under $20M water debt

By COREY WILLIAMS
Associated Press

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) — A small enclave of Detroit is considering municipal bankruptcy to help rid itself of a decades-old water debt that has grown to about $20 million and threatens to swamp the already financially struggling city. Highland Park and the Great Lakes Water Authority are in court-ordered mediation over how the debt will be paid. It’s a hit in the decline of Highland Park, which was built a century ago on the strength of the area’s auto industry and had more than 50,000 residents in 1930. Now, fewer than 9,000 people live in the city, which only expects about $12 million in revenue for the coming fiscal year.