Post Tagged with: "low-income affordability"

In July, the House of Representatives introduced the bipartisan Low-Income Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) Establishment Act. The legislation would re-establish and make permanent, the first-ever federal water assistance program after funding for the program expired in 2022. The bill was introduced by Reps. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.),Read More

According to a new comprehensive analysis of drinking water and sewer rates, the combined water and sewer bill for a typical U.S. household has increased by 4.6% from 2023 to 2024 and about 24% in the past five years. Bluefield Research, which analyzes and providesRead More

A preliminary analysis presented in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2024 Water Affordability Needs Assessment Report indicates between 12.1 million and 19.2 million households throughout the United States lack affordable access to water services. EPA’s Water Affordability Needs Assessment Report provides an estimate of the water affordability burdenRead More

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has offered its strong support for the proposed Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment Act. The bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would permanently establish low-income water assistance for families struggling to access affordable drinking water and wastewater services.Read More

Utility Finance Executives Weigh In On Resilience, Affordability, Digital Transformation & More Editor’s Note: Following the conclusion of our 2023 Water Finance Conference in Cleveland, our longtime contributor and colleague Greg Baird, a former water utility CFO and now principal consultant with Black & VeatchRead More

The Association of Metropolitan of Water Agencies (AMWA) recently joined more than 150 national, state and local organizations in writing to congressional leaders to express strong support for continued funding for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) at Department of Health and Human Services inRead More

Recommendations Include Establishment of Permanent Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Program at HHS Five water sector organizations joined forces today to release a new report on the growing water affordability concern for low-income Americans and call for a permanent program to address the challenge. The AmericanRead More

Two prominent water industry associations representing public utility systems are urging the federal government to fund the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) in 2024 and beyond. Last week, the Association of Metropolitan Agencies (AMWA) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) sentRead More

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) expressed its disappointment this week at the outcome of a nearly five-year process to significantly overhaul the U.S. EPA’s Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) Guidance and ‘meaningfully address’ the growing ratepayer affordability gap. First issued in 1997, theRead More

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) recently released a new report showing that average annual wastewater service costs for American families increased at twice the rate of inflation between 2000 and 2021. The report highlights how income inequality is driving heightened affordability challengesRead More