WSSC Water Financial Assistance Programs

New applicants may qualify for up to $10,000. Apply today for the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). Program application deadline extended - open through at least December 31, 2023.

Starting August 15, applicants applying for the Homeowner's Assistance Fund (HAF) will be placed on a waitlist to be considered for funding, if available. Apply now.  

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Supporting our neighbors when they need help the most

WSSC Water is committed to providing financial assistance to customers to make your water and sewer bills more affordable. We’ve enhanced our programs and pay plans to provide financial assistance to even more customers. Eligible residential and commercial customers may request a pay plan.

Below are links to county, state and local resources offering financial assistance:

Montgomery County
Prince George's County
State Resources
Other Resources
Flexible Payment Options
Customer Assistance Program (CAP)
Bay Restoration Fund Exemption
Water Fund
Bill Adjustments
PipeER

 

Montgomery County Financial Assistance

• Montgomery County Emergency Financial and Utility Assistance Resource Listing
  Download PDF (315kb)
• Customers residing in certain cities, who are in need of financial assistance for housing/eviction prevention, utilities and prescription drugs, see the contact information below:

Municipality	Phone Number	Agency Administering Emergency Financial Assistance
City of Rockville (city residents only)	240-777-4550	Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services
City of Takoma Park  (city residents only)	301-891-7222	Housing and Community Development

Prince George's County Financial Assistance

• Prince George's County Homeownership Preservation Program: launched in late 2021 and is available to provide up to $30,000 to homeowners for health, safety, energy efficiency, and accessibility repairs in qualified, owner-occupied homes. Households under 50% of the area median income (AMI) can receive up to $50,000 in services. There are income, location, and eligibility requirements. The Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Maryland to implement this program in the County’s qualified census tract areas with special emphasis on homes within one mile of a future Purple Line transit stop.

         Prince George’s County Homeownership Preservation Program (PG HOPP)

• Utility Relief Assistance Program offered by H.O.P.E. & Stone of Help CDC : Households that are at or below 80% AMI that have not received utility assistance from the Prince George’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) are eligible for a ONE-TIME financial assistance payment per property address for past due electric, gas, or water bills up to $500. Applicants will need to contact Housing Options & Planning Enterprises Inc. (H.O.P.E.) for further details on how to apply for assistance. 
  Housing Options & Planning Enterprises Inc., Intake Specialist - 301-567-3330

   

Prince George’s County Resource Listing
Download PDF (80.3kb) | Download XLSX (19.84kb)

Customers residing in certain cities, who are in need of financial assistance for housing/eviction prevention, utilities and prescription drugs, see the contact information below:

Municipality	Phone Number	Agency Administering Emergency Financial Assistance
Town of Berwyn Heights (town residents only)	301-474-5000	Town of Berwyn Heights
City of College Park (city residents only)	240-487-3570	City of College Park
City of Laurel (city residents only)	301-776-0442 #2	Laurel Advocacy & Referral Services, Inc (LARS)
Town of Upper Marlboro (town residents only)	301-627-6905	Town of Upper Marlboro Emergency Relief Fund

 

State Resources for Financial Assistance

Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)

New applicants may qualify for up to $10,000. Applications accepted through December 31, 2023

Attention WSSC Water customers behind on their water/sewer bills. You might qualify for the state’s recently launched Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, or LIHWAP. Applicants must have their name of the bill and live at the address on the bill. Renters are also eligible.

Find out if you qualify at www.dhs.maryland.gov/OHEP. Funds are limited, so apply today.

You can also apply in person:

Montgomery County Dept. of Health and Human Services 1301 Piccard Drive  Rockville, MD 20850   (240) 777-4450 ohep@montgomerycountymd.gov

Prince George’s County Prince George’s County Dept. of Social Services 425 Brightseat Road Landover, MD 20785 (301) 909-6300 pgcdss.energy@maryland.gov

Maryland Homeowner Assistance Fund

New applicants applying after August 15 will be waitlisted.

The Maryland Homeowner Assistance Fund provides homeowners with financial assistance for mortgage payments or other housing costs including water and sewer bills due to COVID-19 impacts. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development will administer this program. More information is available at https://dhcd.maryland.gov/Residents/Pages/HomeownerAssistanceFund.aspx.

Find out if you’re eligible for assistance from the MD HAF program: www.mdhaf.com/prescreening.

Monitor the progress of your application by going to https://marylandhaf.com/login and logging in. You must first register for an account. 

Bilingual Homeowner Assistance Fund Fact Sheet (English/Español)

To be connected to housing counseling and legal services, please call 1-877-462-7555.

For assistance with completing the Maryland Homeowner Assistance Fund application, please contact a housing counseling agency that serves the county where your home is located:

Service Area	Counseling Agency	Phone	Website
Montgomery County	First Home Alliance	877-250-9025	https://firsthomealliance.org/
Montgomery County	Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc. - Germantown	301-916-5946	http://www.hiphomes.org/wp
Montgomery County	Money Management International - Silver Spring	866-232-9080	http://www.moneymanagement.org
Prince George's County	Centro De Apoyo Familiar	301-328-3292	http://www.mycaf.org
Prince George's County	Greater Washington Urban League - Prince George's County	202-265-8200	http://www.gwl.org
Prince George's County	HomeFree-USA	301-891-8400	http://www.homefreeusa.org
Prince George's County	Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc.- Hyattsville	301-699-3835	http://www.hiphomes.org/wp
Prince George's County	Housing Options & Planning Enterprises, Inc.	301-567-3330	http://www.hopefinancial.org
Prince George's County	Latino Economic Development Corporation	202-540-7401	http://www.ledcmetro.org
Prince George's County	Sowing Empowerment and Economic Development	301-458-9808	https://www.seedinc.org
Prince George's County	United Communities Against Poverty	301-322-5700	https://www.ucappgc.org/

 

Other Local Resources for Financial Assistance

• WSSC Water Community Resource Guide
  Download PDF (441kb) - English
• Otros Recursos Locales
  Download PDF (169kb) - Español)
• You also may call 2-1-1, which provides community health and human service resources, 24/7, in over 150 languages or go to https://www.211.org.

Download our Financial Assistance information sheet (PDF 420kb)

Descargue nuestra hoja de información sobre ayuda financiera (PDF 257 kb)

We help our neighbors in need of water bill financial assistance in the following ways:

 

Flexible payment options

WSSC Water has partnered with Promise to offer affordable, flexible and interest-free pay plans for customers. Sign up is easy through Promise. Have questions? Call Promise at 301-900-5551.

 

 

Customer Assistance Program (CAP)

CAP provides a credit of up to $196 per year for WSSC Water's fixed fees on water and sewer bills (including the Bay Restoration Fund fee collected on behalf of the State of Maryland). Late fees are permanently waived for CAP customers. To apply online for CAP, please visit the Office of Home Energy Programs (OHEP) website or call 800-332-6347.  You also may contact your local OHEP offices:

Montgomery County Department of Health & Human Services
Phone (240) 777-4450 | Email: ohep@montgomerycountymd.gov

Prince George’s County Department of Social Services
Phone (301) 909-6300 | Email: pgcdss.energy@maryland.gov

Find out if you qualify on our Customer Assistance Program page. To check the status of your OHEP application, please visit https://myohepstatus.org/. Please note: the OHEP status online tool only works for FY24 applications submitted on or after July 1, 2023. 

Download the CAP Brochure 
Download PDF (1.2mb)             

 

Bay Restoration Fund exemption

This exemption waives the state-mandated Bay Restoration Fund fee of up to $60 per year. Customers enrolled in CAP are automatically enrolled in this program. To apply online for the Bay Restoration Fund Exemption, go to wsscwater.com/bayexempt. For more information, see the Bay Restoration Fund page.

Emergency Home Repairs/Maryland Homeowner Assistance WholeHome Grant:

The Homeowner Assistance Fund WholeHome Grant will help Maryland homeowners with emergency repairs at their primary residence due to COVID-19 financial impacts. Without addressing these repairs, it will cause the homeowner to be “involuntarily displaced” from the property. The grant will be capped at $10,000 and includes  emergency repairs like mold remediation, asbestos and lead paint removal, no heat or no air, electrical repairs, plumbing and septic repairs, and other structural and maintenance issues. For more information, call 877-568-6105 or email rehab.hafapplications@maryland.gov.

Download the MDHAF WholeHome Factsheet

 

The Water Fund

The Water Fund was established by WSSC Water employees in 1994 to provide water bill assistance to customers. Funded by donations from WSSC Water customers, employees and community partners, customers can make multiple requests for assistance with water and sewer bills, up to $500 per year. For more information, see the Water Fund assistance page.

To apply, call The Salvation Army office in the county where you live or go to https://salvationarmynca.org/nca/gethelp for more information.

Montgomery County Salvation Army: 301-515-5354
Prince George’s County Salvation Army: 301-277-6103

What will I need to confirm eligibility?

All programs require that you be a WSSC Water customer receiving a bill in your name. You will need to present picture identification and proof that your income falls within an established threshold. Because different agencies administer them, each assistance program may have separate applications and eligibility requirements.

 

Bill adjustments

If you receive a higher than normal bill, you may be eligible for a billing adjustment:

• Bill adjustments are available to residential customers once every three years under certain circumstances.
• Commercial accounts may be eligible for a one-time high bill adjustment.
• Leaks: Leaks result in higher water bills that can cause financial strain. See our Household Leak Detection page for details.
• CAP-approved customers: CAP-approved customers may be eligible to receive a high bill adjustment removing 100% of the excess water and sewer usage for one billing cycle in any three-year period. See more about CAP below. See our Customer Assistance Program page for more information.
• Other high bill causes: Other adjustments for unexpectedly high bills may be available, including for medical reasons.

More information is available on the Bill Adjustment Request page.

Need help now?

Get started by calling 301-206-4001. Our Customer Service Advisors will help you determine the best programs for your situation. We are experiencing longer than usual wait times. We greatly appreciate your patience.

 

PipeER Water Service Line Emergency Replacement Loan Program

Do you have a leak on your residential water service line? Does that water service line need to be replaced? If so, WSSC Water is here to help with the Water Service Line Emergency Replacement Loan Program. 

PipeER provides a loan to finance the replacement of a leaking residential water service line. Qualified customers are eligible to receive a loan up to $5,000. For more information and to begin your application process, contact WSSC FCU by email at lending@wsscfcu.org or online at wsscfcu.org/pipeER.

More information on PipeER

How do I register for these programs?

Call 301-206-4001 and our Customer Service Advisors will help you determine the programs that are best suited for you.