BALTIMORE, MD.  —  Yesterday, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced Baltimore H2O Assists, a new program to help Baltimore City residents in financial need pay their water bills.

Baltimore H2O Assists goes into effect July 1, 2019. Also known as BH2O Assists, it combines the best of existing assistance programs (rate reductions, fee waivers, income-based eligibility), and provides this help before customers fall behind on their bills.

Customers will be eligible if their income is at or below 175 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines – the same as many other assistance programs, such as LIHEAP. There is no age restriction on who may apply.

For those who qualify and enroll in BH2O Assists, charges for water and sewer usage will be discounted 43 percent. The Bay Restoration and Stormwater Remediation fees will not be applied to bills.

An added benefit, BH2O Plus, provides households whose income is at or below 50 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (currently $10,665 for a household of 3) a credit, set currently at $236, applied over 12 months. That builds in an extra level of affordability for the City’s neediest households.

Registration for BH2O Assists will be handled at the five Community Action Partnership Centers in Baltimore, where registration for other social service programs are handled. Customers enrolled in existing Senior Citizens or Hardship water billing assistance programs on June 1, 2019, will automatically be enrolled in the BH2O Assists program. Enrollment will last for 12 months. A reminder to re-enroll will be sent before the enrollment expires.

Mayor Young also announced that independent reviewers will be available to work with customers on billing disputes that customers wish to escalate from DPW’s own bill review process. Further details about that program will be available soon.