AWWA, partners call for federal assistance to support water affordability
May 3, 2023
AWWA Articles
AWWA, partners call for federal assistance to support water affordability
To support the escalating number of U.S. households struggling to pay for basic water services, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and four other water organizations are urging Congress and the White House to create a permanent federal low-income water assistance program.
AWWA joined the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) and Water Environment Federation (WEF) in releasing formal policy recommendations based on a detailed analysis, Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Program (LIWCAP) Assessment Study.
The study establishes that water affordability is a significant challenge for as many as 21 million U.S. households and estimates that the need for federal funding to remove this burden for households that are direct or indirect customers of water utilities ranges between $2.4 and $7.9 billion annually. The partner organizations released their recommendations last week at an event and panel discussion in Washington, D.C.
Tracy Mehan, AWWA’s executive director of Government Affairs, participated on the panel. “Energy has the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), food has the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and housing has the Housing Choice Voucher Program (known as Section 8), but there is no such permanent program to assist struggling, income-challenged water and wastewater customers,” he said. “It is time for the federal government to step up and implement a new low-income assistance program for the water and wastewater sectors.”
The water organizations recommend establishing a permanent LIWCAP program by building on an existing effort that was piloted through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, called the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). That program was created in response to needs precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and is authorized for federal funding through September 2023.
The LIWCAP assessment study was conducted between November 2021 and April 2023 and authored by leading independent experts on water affordability and funding issues. It includes a national water affordability needs assessment and evaluates alternatives for structuring a federal low-income water assistance program.
AWWA provides more information about water affordability on its affordability resource page.