Thousands of low-income families throughout the Golden State are eligible to receive financial assistance from the California Department of Community Services and Development.
Assistance per household can be up to $15,000 to pay outstanding or pending bills accrued over a period of time.
The Department of California Water Service (Cal Water) is seeking to provide this assistance to people who have had difficulty paying this bill.
“Our top priority is to provide safe, clean, reliable and affordable water service to our customers; however, we recognize that customers sometimes struggle to make ends meet and pay their bills,” said Cal Water CEO and President Martin A. Kropelnicki.
Cal Water notes that through the federal Low-Income Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), low-income residents can apply for this financial assistance.
Here are some requirements to qualify:
- Your total gross household income is at or below 60% of the state median income;
- Receives the service of a community water system or a wastewater treatment provider (private tank and septic tank excluded);
- Your water or sewer system is registered in the program. Not all registered water systems can accept LIHWAP payments for current bills.
- Tenants: If your water and/or sewer bill is included in your rent payment, you may still qualify for LIHWAP if you are behind on rent. The application will require an additional step: you will need to enter into an agreement with your landlord to apply the benefit amount.
The California Department of Community and Development Services website has an easy-to-use tool where you just type your zip code into the search engine and the organization closest to you appears to be able to apply for this help. Click here.
Kropelnicki added that Cal Water works with other agencies to provide these customers with financial assistance as it does with LIHWAP, among one of the programs available to help these customers.
For more information about LIHWAP, visit https://www.calwater.com/lihwap/.