The undersigned organizations and municipalities urge Congress to allocate $1 billion to continue the existing separate and independent Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) program to help families with growing water debt and rising water costs.
In 2021, Congress created funding streams that work in concert to support water affordability from both a household and utility perspective. To lower the cost of capital improvements, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided an increase in low-interest and grant funding streams directed at disadvantaged communities through the State Revolving Funds program. To support household affordability, Congress created LIHWAP and provided $1.14 billion for customer assistance. To date, over 400,000 households have benefitted from LIHWAP, and many more will benefit as states continue to roll out the program until the end of 2023. Households have been reconnected to water service, disconnections have been prevented, and water burdens have been reduced, all as a result of the LIHWAP program.