The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult  for many Californians to pay their bills due to job loss and other  hardships. As a result, systems that provide water services to customers  have been financially impacted.

Through $985 million in federal funding allocated by the  state legislature, the State Water Board is creating a new program to provide relief to community water and wastewater systems for unpaid bills related to the pandemic. The funding will cover water debt from residential and commercial customers accrued between March 4, 2020 and  June 15, 2021.

The Program will initially prioritize drinking water residential and commercial arrearages. Funding to community water systems will be disbursed through January 31, 2022. If the Program still  has funding available, it will extend to wastewater residential and commercial arrearages by February 2022.