Our PGH2O Cares team. L to R: Collin Farone, Eve Kopicki, Ruth Walker, Sarah Viszneki, and Sarah Hall.

PWSA Customer Assistance Programs are designed to provide financial relief for income-qualified residential customers who are having difficulty paying their water, sewer, and stormwater bill. Our organization and the team responsible for administering these programs, PGH2O Cares, was recognized as a leader in this space in a recent WESA article: Pittsburgh water utilities increase aid to low-income customers — but not equally. 

In the piece, we’re introduced to a Garfield customer who participated in our Line Repair and Water Conservation Pilot Program. One of the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, the program pairs income-qualified customers with a professional plumber, who will repair leaks and install water-saving devices in their home at no cost. Through the program, that customer was able to have her leaky sink repaired and her water pressure adjusted for free. She was in disbelief when her bill decreased from $240 to $114. All told, in the first four months of the pilot program, we assisted 47 customers, who on average reduced their monthly water consumption by 33%.

In 2023, we enrolled our 7,000th customer in the Bill Discount program. Earlier this year, we increased income eligibility for that program from 150% of the federal poverty level to 200%. We also maximized the federal Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) and, since January 2022, have helped customers claim more than $2.1 million in assistance to erase the debt of past-due bills. 

We’ve also expanded our Hardship Grant Program, which now includes two separate annual grants – one for eligible drinking water customers and another to eligible wastewater (sewer) customers. Customers receiving both drinking water and wastewater services from PWSA can benefit from both grants simultaneously. The maximum grant will increase from $300 to $450.

Still, surveys show there are thousands of potentially income-qualifying customers that don’t know about our Customer Assistance Programs. Now and into the future, our Cares team will continue their aggressive outreach efforts to publicize the programs and enroll as many of our qualifying customers as possible.

Please visit our Customer Assistance Program webpage to learn more about financial assistance or contact PGH2O Cares at 412-255-2457. For more information, please see the full article from WESA.