WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently reported that the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) has served over one million households within its first year of operation. Launched as an emergency response to meet the critical need for water assistance among low-income households, the program has made significant strides in preventing water service disconnections, reducing water bills, and restoring services.
Administered by the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Office of Community Services (OCS), LIHWAP was authorized with $1.1 billion of total funding. The funds were distributed as grants to states, tribes, and territories to help provide water assistance to those most in need.
“Clean water is critical for the health and well-being of families. No household in this country should ever have to go without it,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “I am proud of the work HHS has done to stand up this program to help keep the water on for 1.4 million households across the country.”
The LIHWAP Implementation and Impact Report emphasizes the urgent need for water assistance throughout the U.S. and underscores the program’s impact since its inception. The report shows that by June 2023, less than a year after all grant recipients started providing benefits, LIHWAP served over one million households; by the end of September 2023, the number of households served surged to over 1.4 million.
As of September 30, 2023, 93 percent of LIHWAP funds had been obligated to households. However, the program was authorized as a temporary and emergency initiative. Some grant recipients have already exhausted their funds, ending their programs, while others will close on or before March 31, 2024, without additional appropriation.
Despite this, the HHS remains committed to providing ongoing training and technical assistance to maximize the program’s reach. “At OCS, we have seen the impact LIHWAP has on households every day,” said OCS Director Dr. Lanikque Howard. “We have now restored water and wastewater services 100,479 times, prevented disconnections 753,558 times, and reduced 679,030 water bills.”
The LIHWAP Implementation and Impact Report can be found online, and an interactive version of the report is also available to view. The LIHWAP Data Dashboard updates can also be found online, LIHWAP Data Dashboard.
For more information about other anti-poverty strategies administered by the Office of Community Services at the Administration for Children and Families, visit acf.hhs.gov/ocs/help.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN.