LIHWAP: A practical path to address families’ affordability challenges

Across the United States, thousands of water and wastewater professionals work every day to deliver essential and affordable services to communities of all sizes. 

Yet access and affordability are not a given for all. While water is typically the lowest-priced utility, nearly 1 in 7 households in the U.S. — or 19 million — lack affordable access to water services. In 2021, Congress created the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program as a temporary, pandemic-era initiative to help eligible households manage overdue water and wastewater bills. When it expired in 2023, many Americans lost access to a key source of federal support. The end of the program did not reflect a resolution of affordability challenges — only the end of temporary relief.

The American Water Works Association and its 50,000 members actively work to ensure that essential investments in water — replacing aging infrastructure, strengthening resilience, and meeting standards that protect public health —