Water affordability is top-of-mind these days for many water wonks in DC.
In January, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), released a report on the temporary Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), finding that by June 2023 it had restored water service or prevented disconnections over 650,000 times for low-income households. (Funding for LIHWAP expired this year, after over 1.6 million households received assistance. But Congress has not yet heeded the call to renew funding for the program.)
In February, the first-ever Senate bill to create a permanent low-income water assistance program was introduced, by Senator Padilla.
In March, HHS released “an analysis of the largest survey documenting [water and sewer] rates, arrears, disconnections and fees in one dataset in the country.” Among nearly 1,900 water and sewer systems that responded, the…