Federal Aid For Water Debt

This is an excerpt of the May 3, 2021 edition of What's Up With Water. In December, when Congress completed the 2021 budget, lawmakers added more funding to help low- and middle-income Americans withstand the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to a second round of stimulus payments, lawmakers included over $600 million for households that were behind on their water bills. It was the first time that Congress had set aside federal funding for that purpose. Little more than two months later, Congress doubled down on the approach, adding another $500 million to what is now officially called the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program. In total, over a billion dollars will be available to relieve households of water debts. That’s where the process has slowed. As of late April, none of those funds has been allocated to the states, let alone distributed to families in need. State allocations, to be set by the Department of Health and Human Services, are based on poverty levels and high housing costs. Recently, the department’s Office of Community Services said that they expect the initial funding to be disbursed to states, tribes, and territories by late May.