Executive Summary

Over two million Americans live without access to running water and basic indoor plumbing, and a recent study on water disconnections shows that in certain cities, as many as one in five households were disconnected from water services over a year.[1],[2]

One driver of this problem is the rising cost of water bills; the average residential water bill has increased almost 50% since 2010.[3] For households with low incomes, these price increases can be particularly devastating when families and individuals are forced to choose between paying for water and other essential needs like housing, food, and medication.

Prior to 2021, there was not a federal program dedicated to providing bill payment assistance to households struggling to afford their water bills.

In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency and the critical need to ensure continuous water access to combat the spread of the virus, Congress authorized the first national water assistance program with a total appropriation of $1.1 billion. In June 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Community Services (OCS), launched the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), an emergency program to restore water services, prevent disconnections, and provide rate reductions for households with low incomes.

Getting assistance to households as quickly as possible required OCS and state, tribal, and territorial partners to leverage existing structures and networks to administer benefits; establish best practices for working with a vast network of water utilities; coordinate with other federal programs to streamline benefit delivery and maximize support; and utilize policy and program flexibilities to respond to unique local needs. During the life of the program, LIHWAP served 1,535,838 households, providing them with 2.1 million services.[4] During this period, LIHWAP prevented 923,583 disconnections, restored water services 101,687 times, and reduced 1,120,417 water bills, issuing a total of 2,145,687 water assistance benefits to households in need. The LIHWAP grant recipient annual reports showed that benefits went to households that needed them the most; 56% of households served had vulnerable population members,[5] and 59% of households had incomes at or below 75% of the federal poverty level.[6]

This final report shares information on water affordability throughout the United States and provides program outcomes including promising practices and challenges encountered during implementation.