Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (93.499)
Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (Assistance Listing 93.499) is run by the Administration for Children and Families, part of the Department of Health and Human Services. It awarded $2.2 million in 84 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $26,273 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $10,282. Half of the 84 awards fell between $3,266 and $32,279, and they ranged from $571 to $5.0 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$2.2 million
- Grant awards84
- Typical award$10,282
- Awarded in FY 2025$0
- Size rank1746 of 1824
Key findings
- It is the 1746th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 812% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 22 states and territories.
What the program funds
The objective of the Low Income Household Water Assistance program is to meet unprecedented water services needs that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. This program is meant to be an emergency program that provides quick intervention to help the people facing the high water/wastewater costs compared to their income in resuming and/or maintaining their home water/wastewater services. The benefits are limited to households with low income, particularly those that pay a high proportion of household income for drinking water and wastewater services, by providing funds to owners or operators of public water systems or treatment works to reduce arrearages of and rates charged to eligible households. Low income is defined in the federal rules as the greater of 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or 60% of State Median Income; however, each recipient (state/tribe/territory) may prescribe a lower cut-off. Recipients can also decide a household’s eligibility based on categorical eligibility of a household member, meaning someone in the household is already receiving another type of qualifying public assistance such as from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The intent to is provide financial assistance to cover water, wastewater and related services and fees. The priority is to provide assistance first and foremost to households that face the most immediate need—households whose services are already disconnected. The benefit payment and/or interventions shall be sufficient to ensure restoration of the water/wastewater services. The benefits can pay any relevant arrearage (past due amount) that is preventing service from being reconnected, as well as any related late fee, reconnection fee, penalty, etc., that is billed in normal course of billing by the water/wastewater provider to any household that has a past due balance. The last priority for assistance is for households that have service and only need help with current bills, e.g., do not have past due balances.
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (93.499) awarded$2.2 million across 84 grant awards, an average of $26,273 per award.
Who usually wins
Almost all of the money went to tribes.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tribal governments and organizations | 75 | $2.2 million | 100% |
By state
7 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 1 | $5.0 million |
| Georgia | 1 | $4.3 million |
| Virginia | 1 | $2.6 million |
| Kentucky | 1 | $2.2 million |
| Iowa | 1 | $1.2 million |
| Oklahoma | 14 | $570,029 |
| Arizona | 6 | $506,535 |
| North Carolina | 1 | $309,769 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | $282,083 |
| Washington | 13 | $176,940 |
| Alaska | 7 | $131,138 |
| Montana | 5 | $114,811 |
| California | 8 | $78,260 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | $76,941 |
| New Mexico | 4 | $33,430 |
| Oregon | 3 | $32,129 |
| Wyoming | 2 | $15,618 |
| Michigan | 1 | $10,184 |
| American Samoa | 1 | $10,000 |
| Kansas | 1 | $10,000 |
| South Carolina | 1 | $3,475 |
| Alabama | 1 | $2,888 |