Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) Fact Sheet
What We Do
The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) is an emergency federal program that provides funding to states, territories, and tribes to help pay past due bills and lower drinking water and wastewater rates for households with low incomes. In 2021, Congress allocated $1.1 billion to fund LIHWAP, the first federal program to address water affordability through bill payment assistance, until March of 2024. LIHWAP prioritized helping households where services had been disconnected or risked disconnection due to non-payment in order to have their services restored as quickly as possible.
Who We Serve
LIHWAP served households with low incomes that pay the greatest amount of their income towards their home drinking water and wastewater services. Each grant recipient set eligibility criteria for households, including a household income cutoff that was no more than the greater of 150% of the federal poverty line (FPL) or 60% of the state median income (SMI).
2023 Highlights
Total funding released
Total Individuals served
Total households served
Average Benefit Amount
Prevented disconnections
Water services restored
Reductions of current water bills
Total water vendor partnerships formed
LIHWAP Participation
- 152 Grant recipients receiving LIHWAP funding
- 50 States, including the District of Columbia
- 5 Territories
- 97 Tribes and tribal consortiums
- 4863k Total households served with vulnerable populations
- 410K Households with a member with a disability
- 418K Households that included older adults
- 246K Households that included young children (ages 0 to 5)
Low Income Household Water Assistance Program
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services