NEED HELP WITH WATER COSTS?

This program can help eligible households with water and sewer bills.

The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) helps eligible households pay water and sewer bills to restore or maintain access to drinking water and wastewater services and is funded through two federal appropriations.

This program is administered in the Commonwealth by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and is intended to restore service and pay toward arrearages of water and wastewater services. Local service delivery is provided by 20 local administrating agencies (LAAs) that also administer the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

You become eligible for LIHWAP after being approved for Fuel Assistance (LIHEAP).  You do not need to complete a separate application. To learn more about the fuel and assistance program and find an agency near you, please visit our heating help page.

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WATER ASSISTANCE INCOME ELIGIBILITY

This program will serve income eligible customers who are directly billed for their service(s) and whose service has been either terminated for non-payment, or who have an arrearage, and have been approved for fuel assistance. Though the program name includes low income, the income guidelines are broad, serving households who would not generally be considered low income. For example, a household of four can have an annualized gross income of up to $81,561. The annualization of a household’s income is almost always based on four weeks of a household’s income. These are the guidelines for the fuel assistance program (LIHEAP) and you only need one application for both.

Household SizeGross Annual Income4 Week Gross Income
(if paid once per month)
4 Week Gross Income
(if paid weekly or bi-weekly)
1$42,411$3,534$3,262
2$55,461$4,621$4,266
3$68,511$5,709$5,270
4$81,561$6,796$6,273
5$94,610$7,884$7,277
6$107,660$8,971$8,281
7$110,107$9,175$8,469
8$112,554$9,379$8,658

Where Should I Apply?

At the agency in your area.

NameCityPhone NumberWebsiteApply Online
Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. (ABCD)Boston, Brookline, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Newton, Stoneham, West Roxbury, Winchester, Woburn,617.357.6012https://bostonabcd.org/service/fuel-assistance-2/https://toapply.org/ABCD
Action, Inc. (Action)Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Ipswich, Lynn, Lynnfield, Manchester, Manchester by the sea, Marblehead, Middleton, Nahant, Peabody, Rockport, Salem, Saugus, Swampscott, Topsfield, Wakefield, Wenham,978-281-3900https://actioninc.org/energy/fuel-assistance/https://toapply.org/Action
Berkshire Community Action Council, Inc. (BCAC)Adams, Alford, Becket, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Dalton, Egremont, Florida, Great Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mt. Washington, New Ashford, New Marlborough, North Adams, Otis, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Sandisfield, Savoy, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, West Stockbridge, Williamstown, Windsor,(413) 445-4503https://bcacinc.org/fuel-assistance/https://toapply.org/BCAC
Citizens for Citizens, Inc. (CFC)Acushnet, Berkley, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Lakeville, Marion, New Bedford, Rehoboth, Rochester, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, Taunton, Westport,(508) 679-0041http://cfcinc.org/programs/fuel-assistance-program/https://toapply.org/CFC
City of Cambridge, Department of Human Services (DHSP)Cambridge, Somerville,(617) 349-6252http://www.cambridgema.gov/DHSP/programsforfamilies/fuelassistancehttps://toapply.org/CCDHS
Community Action Pioneer Valley (CAPV)Amherst, Ashfield, Belchertown, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Cummington, Deerfield, Easthampton, Erving, Gill, Goshen, Granby, Greenfield, Hadley, Hatfield, Hawley, Heath, Huntington, Leverett, Leyden, Middlefield, Monroe, Montague, New Salem, Northampton, Northfield, Orange, Pelham, Plainfield, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Southampton, Sunderland, Ware, Warwick, Wendell, Westhampton, Whately, Williamsburg, Worthington,413-774-2310https://www.communityaction.us/fuel-assistancehttps://toapply.org/CA
Community Action Programs Inter-City, Inc. (CAPIC)Cambridge, Chelsea, Revere, Somerville, Winthrop,(617) 884-6130http://www.capicinc.org/Eng/E_FuelAssistance.htmlhttps://toapply.org/CAPIC
Community Action, Inc. (CAI)Amesbury, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salisbury, West Newbury,978-373-1971https://www.communityactioninc.org/programs/fuel-energyhttps://toapply.org/CAI
Community Teamwork, Inc. (CTI)Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Billerica, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Lexington, Lowell, Pepperell, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Waltham, Watertown, Westford, Wilmington,978.459.6161http://www.commteam.org/how-we-help/housing-utilities/liheap/https://toapply.org/CTI
Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Inc. (GLCAC)Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, North Reading, Reading,(978) 681-4900https://www.glcac.org/departments/Fuel-AssistanceLIHEAP.htmlhttps://toapply.org/GLCAC
LEO, Inc. (LEO)Lynn, Lynnfield, Nahant, Saugus, Swampscott, Wakefield,781.309.5639 https://leoinc.org/services/fuel-assistance-home-heating/https://toapply.org/LEO
Making Opportunity Count (MOC)Ashburnham, Ashby, Athol, Ayer, Barre, Berlin, Bolton, Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Hardwick, Harvard, Hubbardston, Lancaster, Leominster, Lunenburg, New Braintree, Petersham, Phillipston, Princeton, Royalston, Shirley, Sterling, Templeton, Townsend, Westminster, Winchendon,978-342-7025https://www.mocinc.org/energy-serviceshttps://toapply.org/INTFITCH
North Shore Community Action Program, Inc. (NSCAP)Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Middleton, Peabody, Salem, Topsfield,(978) 531-0767https://www.nscap.org/our-programs/fuel-assistance/https://toapply.org/NSCAP
People Acting in Community Endeavors, Inc. (PACE)Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoiset, New Bedford, Rochester,508-525-4271https://paceinfo.org/programs/fuel-assistance/https://toapply.org/PACE
Quincy Community Action Programs, Inc. (QCAP)Braintree, Milton, Quincy, Weymouth,617-657-5301 https://www.qcap.org/our-programs/energy-programs/https://toapply.org/QCAP
Self-Help, Inc. (SHI)Abington, Attleboro, Avon, Bridgewater, Brockton, Canton, Dedham, East Bridgewater, Easton, Foxboro, Franklin, Hanson, Holbrook, Mansfield, Needham, Norfolk, North Attleboro, Norton, Norwood, Plainville, Randolph, Raynham, Rockland, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, West Bridgewater, Westwood, Whitman, Wrentham, 508-588-5440https://selfhelpinc.org/program-services/fuel-energy/fuel-assistance/https://toapply.org/SHI
South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc. (SMOC)Acton, Ashland, Bellingham, Blackstone, Boxboro, Concord, Dover, Framingham, Grafton, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Hudson, Lincoln, Littleton, Marlborough, Maynard, Medfield, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millis, Millville, Natick, Northborough, Northbridge, Norwood, Sherborn, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Stow, Sudbury, Upton, Uxbridge, Wayland, Wellesley, Westborough, Weston,508-620-1230http://www.smoc.org/smoc-fuel-assistance.phphttps://toapply.org/SMOC
South Shore Community Action Council, Inc. (SSCAC)Aquinnah, Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Carver, Chatham, Chilmark, Cohasset, Dennis, Duxbury, Eastham, Edgartown, Falmouth, Gosnold, Halifax, Hanover, Harwich, Harwich Port, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Marshfield, Mashpee, Middleboro, Nantucket, Norwell, Oak Bluffs, Orleans, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Provincetown, Sandwich, Scituate, South Chatham, South Falmouth, Tisbury, Truro, Wareham, Wellfleet, West Chatham, West Harwich, West Tisbury, West Wareham, West Yarmouth, Woods Hole, Yarmouth, Yarmouthport,508-746-6707https://www.sscac.org/fuel-assistancehttps://toapply.org/SSCAC
Springfield Partners for Community Action, Inc. (SPCA)Agawam, Blandford, Brimfield, Chester, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Granville, Hampden, Holland, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Monson, Montgomery, Palmer, Russell, Southwick, Springfield, Tolland, Wales, West Springfield, Westfield, Wilbraham,(413) 263-6500https://www.springfieldpartnersinc.com/services/housing-energy-services/weatherization/No online application for this Agency
Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. (VOC)Agawam, Blandford, Brimfield, Chester, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Granville, Hampden, Holland, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Monson, Montgomery, Palmer, Russell, Southwick, Springfield, Tolland, Wales, West Springfield, Westfield, Wilbraham,(413) 552-1554https://www.valleyopp.com/energy-assistance/fuel-assistancehttps://toapply.org/VOC
Worcester Community Action Council, Inc. (WCAC)Auburn, Boylston, Brookfield, Charlton, Douglas, Dudley, East Brookfield, Holden, Leicester, Millbury, North Brookfield, Oakham, Oxford, Paxton, Rutland, Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, Sutton, Warren, Webster, West Boylston, West Brookfield, Worcester,(508) 754-1176http://www.wcac.net/fuel-assistance/https://toapply.org/WCAC

Show all agency locations
NOTE: Apply for Fuel Assistance (LIHEAP) and you may be eligible for Water Assistance (LIHWAP), as well.

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