For a Recently Plumbed Neighborhood, Validation in a Verdict

By DIRK JOHNSON
NY Times

ZANESVILLE, Ohio — The sound of rainfall at night still startles Jerry Kennedy, who jumps out of bed, ready to run outside and catch the precious drops.

“And then I realize, ‘Hey, you don’t have to haul water anymore,’ ” Mr. Kennedy said. “It’s right there in the faucet.”

Until 2004, the city’s water pipes did not stretch all the way to Mr. Kennedy’s home on Coal Run Road, a mostly black neighborhood in a hollow beyond the edge of town. As some people here put it, the water seemed to stop “where the black folks started.”

A federal jury in Columbus agreed last month. The jury, citing a violation of civil rights law, ordered the City of Zanesville and Muskingum County to pay nearly $11 million in damages for failing to provide water to each of 67 plaintiffs, including Mr. Kennedy, for over 45 years. The plaintiffs will be eligible for payments of $15,000 to $300,000. The city and county, whose officials deny any racial discrimination, are appealing the ruling.