New York State Offering Assistance with Past Due Water Bills

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) has created a new program that is designed to assist lower-income New Yorkers who have fallen behind on their water and/or sewer service get caught up.

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The Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) is now available to help low-income households in New York State pay the cost of drinking water and sewer services. The program can assist households who have past due bills and arrears for drinking water, wastewater, and/or sewer charges. LIHWAP can cover past due amounts up to $2,500 for water service and up to $2,500 for wastewater/sewer services. That amount can be up to $5,000 if drinking water and sewer charges are combined as one service.

When applying for this program, officials from New York State are basing the eligibility on a few different factors. Those are the total income in the household, how many people reside in the household, and the total amount owed for water and/or wastewater/sewer services.

There are income limits to qualify and you can find a list of those income limits here on the New York State OTDA website. For a family of four (4) in New York, the income limit to qualify is $62,988 per year.

Applications are available now and you can submit yours on the NYS OTDA website right here. When you are ready to apply, you will need to have the following items ready to submit with your application:

• Proof of identity for the primary applicant.
• A valid Social Security Number for the primary applicant.
• Proof of residence.
• A drinking water, wastewater, or combined drinking water and wastewater bill listing your permanent and primary residence.
• Documentation of income for the primary applicant.

If you have any questions about this program, you can visit the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) website right here. You can also call LIHWAP hotline at 1-833-690-0208 or the OTDA Hotline at 1-800-342-3009. You can also email LIHWAP here.