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From Tom Worthington

You report on concerns that shutting off the water supply to non-paying Detroit homes will inevitably result in a public health disaster (16 July, p 6).

In 2011, Auckland Council in New Zealand decided to limit the water supply for non-payers to 1 litre per minute, a fraction of the 15 litres per minute typical of a domestic water supply.

While this reduced rate is adequate for toilet flushing and handwashing, even specially designed low-flow shower heads require about 3 litres per minute to operate.

Perhaps throttling pipes to that rate of supply, allowing a meagre shower, would be both pragmatic and punitive.

Canberra, ACT, Australia