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).