New County program to help with overdue water bills

by Sara Swanson

Do you have Village of Manchester water and are overdue on your water bill? If you meet the financial requirements, Washtenaw County’s Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) could help! The Village of Manchester is one of the six participating water providers in this new program, along with the City of Saline, Superior Township, the City of Dexter, Sylvan Township, and the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority.

Program benefits for residents include direct payment assistance up to $650 for household accounts that have a disconnect status or have arrearages (money owed that should have been paid earlier). This includes fees related to water reconnection and an assurance of 90 days of service from the date a LIHWAP payment is made.

In order to be eligible for the program, participants must be a residential account holder, have water arrearages or disconnection notice, and have a household at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Limit (or automatically qualify as a part of select programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Social Security Income, State Emergency Relief, Food Assistance Program, or SNAP).

To apply, complete an application at https://www.washtenaw.org/3633/LIHWAP or contact Arieona Klaus at 734-544-6721 or at klausa@washtenaw.org. Required documents for applying include a valid ID for all household members over age 18, proof of household income from the last 30 days, Social Security numbers for all household members, and proof of residency, citizenship, or immigration status (Social Security card is accepted as proof of residency).

LIHWAP is a temporary emergency program that will help low-income households and families afford water and wastewater services. Along with funding provided under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, LIWHAP will offer direct assistance to residents to pay their water bills, avoid shutoffs, and support household water system reconnections related to non-payment.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.