Low-income Households Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)

What is LIHWAP?

The Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) is a federally funded grant program created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law No: 116-260) and the American Rescue Plan of 2021. The program aims to assist low-income households with water and wastewater bills.

Tennessee Housing Development Agency received over $25 million to administer LIHWAP across the state. In Tennessee, the LIHWAP is administered through a network of 19 local agencies that reach all 95 counties.

The purpose of the LIHWAP funds is to restore or prevent disconnections of water services to eligible households, by providing funds directly to the utility company, operators of public water systems or treatment works, to bring the household’s account current and help reduce the water and wastewater burden by assisting with current bills. LIHWAP is a one-time assistance that serves three priority groups:

THDA LIHWAP provides relief assistance to three priority groups:

• Households with pending disconnections or disconnected water services and/or wastewater services, or
• Households with a past due bill for water services and/or wastewater services, or
• Households who are at risk of falling behind on their water services and/or wastewater services

LIHWAP assistance does not go directly to the client or applicant; rather direct payments are made through the LIWEAP agency to the local utility company or energy supplier.

Application Process

Applicants must meet income eligibility. Income eligible households are those at or below 60% of the State Median Income. See our chart of household income limits below to see if you are eligible.

2021 Income Guidelines:

Use this table to determine if your household can potentially qualify for LIHWAP Assistance:

The application, along with all necessary verifications, must be submitted through the designated LIHWAP agency in the applicant's county of residence.

For more information or further assistance with the application process, please contact your local LIHWAP agency. A list of each agency and the county they serve is available below. You may also use the locator map by clicking the blue button at the bottom of the page.