Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
2 <br /> Orange Water and Sewer Authority <br /> OWASA <br /> SA Our community's trusted partner for clean water and environmental <br /> protection. <br /> Subiect• <br /> Water Bill Relief Program <br /> Purpose: <br /> Introduce and discuss the concept and funding of a sustained water bill relief program for OWASA <br /> customers <br /> Background: <br /> In 1997, in partnership with the Interfaith Council for Social Services, OWASA launched one of the first <br /> water bill assistance programs in the country.At the time,the program was called "Taste of Hope"; it <br /> has since been rebranded as "Care to Share." Care to Share is designed to provide temporary assistance <br /> to OWASA customers at a level that covers about two months of water and sewer bills (currently <br /> $250/year). It is primarily funded by OWASA customers through donations made with their monthly <br /> water bill payment. Donations, not rate payer funds, are the source of funding for this program, as <br /> OWASA is contractually prohibited by the Purchase and Sales Agreement with the University and Towns <br /> from providing free service. An additional hurdle to rate-supported bill assistance is state law. State law <br /> requires utilities to charge 'reasonable rates' and prohibits unreasonable discrimination among <br /> members of the same class of user or class of service (including 162A-6(a)(9)). No provision exists to <br /> allow public utilities to charge different rates based on levels of personal income. <br /> The "Care to Share" program continues to play a vital role in providing temporary bill relief to OWASA <br /> customers when they are experiencing a moment of financial difficulty. In 2024,Care to Share <br /> supported 84 families with an average of$220 of assistance per family. <br /> However,there are members of our community for whom water bills are increasingly less affordable <br /> every month of the year, not just from time to time. Since 2012, OWASA rates have increased by 63%, <br /> and the cost of goods and services (measured by inflation) has increased by 37.5%. <br /> The need for sustained water bill relief(i.e. monthly credit on water bill) is great and not likely to go <br /> away. With investments needed to meet new regulations, as well as to maintain existing infrastructure <br /> and services, last year's budgeting efforts projected that OWASA's rates need to increase by an <br /> additional 33.5% between FY26 and FY29.According to American Community Survey, in 2023, 19.6%of <br /> Chapel Hill and 11.3%of Carrboro residents lived below the poverty line. <br /> Proposed Program Concept: <br /> Using an existing program to pre-qualify households for sustained water bill relief would help to clearly <br /> identify residents in need of assistance and minimize their administrative burden in applying for such <br /> assistance. Orange County Department of Social Services (OCDSS) provides federal assistance programs <br /> (e.g. Food Nutrition Services) to Orange County residents and would serve as a good proxy for identifying <br /> need for water bill assistance. <br /> In the summer of 2024, OWASA provided its customer records to OCDSS to match up with current FNS <br /> clients to develop a "snapshot" of how many of those residents were also OWASA customers.The <br /> analysis determined that 249 Food Nutrition Services(FNS) clients were also OWASA customers. Eighty- <br /> seven of these clients have someone that is 55 years or older in the household. <br /> O400 Jones Ferry Road,Carrboro,NC O 919-968-4421 ®info@owasa.org O www.owasa.org @OWASA_NC ®@owasa-nc.bsky.social <br />