Everett Boosts Program To Aid Low Income Households With Water Bills

The City of Everett has expanded help for low income residents who may need help paying their water bills.

The City of Everett is making its water utility discount program available to more customers by increasing the maximum household income allowed to qualify for the program.  The City also increased the annual assistance available to low-income customers. Applicants are now eligible for up to $500 of assistance per year.

“Our program is meant to help customers who need financial assistance, and we have capacity to help more people than we had been reaching,” said Ryan Sass, public works director. “Especially during this difficult economic time, we hope that by making these adjustments, we’ll open the program to more customers and bring more eligible customer accounts current.”

Under the new guidelines, customers with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level (up from 150%) may be eligible for as much as $500 (up from $350) in assistance each year. This is the second time the program has expanded eligibility and assistance levels since the program launched in 2017.

To qualify for the program, residential customers must live within Everett city limits and have:

• A direct water service connection
• Received a disconnection notice or a “friendly reminder” letter
• Income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level

The low-income discount program has $100,000 in assistance available annually. There is no disability or age requirement for the program, and customers do not need to own their property to qualify. Customers may apply each calendar year as necessary.

The City of Everett also offers discounts to seniors and disabled customers. More information about these and the low-income utility discount program is available at everettwa.gov/UB.

Applying for the program

The City partners with Catholic Community Services (CCS) to administer the water utility discount program for qualifying residential Everett customers. CCS evaluates customer applications and provides customers with referrals for other services, as appropriate.

Water customers who are in imminent risk of water service disconnection should call the Everett Utilities (Water) Assistance Program line at 425-374-6394. CCS staff are available Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the 1918 Everett Ave. location for in-person and telephone inquiries.

CCS staff connects customers with other social services, including veterans’ services, domestic violence assistance and dispute resolution and eviction prevention resources, in addition to utility assistance.