SACRAMENTO — California’s nation-leading direct relief programs in response to the pandemic distributed billions of dollars in tax refunds, utility and rent relief, small business grants and tax credits, and more.

The state’s Water and Wastewater Arrearages Payment Program was a key component to that overall strategy, and California officials announced that it distributed $880 million to clear water and wastewater bills of over 1.3 million households and businesses, or 4 million people.

The arrearages program began in 2021, after Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature authorized nearly $1 billion in federal funding from the Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan to provide relief from household and commercial water and wastewater debt related to the pandemic.

This action followed the Governor’s April 2020 executive order prohibiting water suppliers from shutting off service to California households and businesses with unpaid bills amid the COVID-19 emergency. 

Overall, 944 community water systems, collectively serving 96% of the state’s population, participated in the program.

The City of Los Angeles received nearly 30% of these funds to help the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Los Angeles City Sanitation (LASAN) clear the water and wastewater bills of more than 204,000 customers to date. Officials from CalEPA and the State Water Board joined Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and others to celebrate the news this week. CalEPA Secretary Yana Garcia, State Water Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel, Mayor Bass and others at Los Angeles event this week