GLWA Board of Directors approves changes to water affordability and conservation program addressing continued COVID-19 pandemic

DETROIT— The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) Board of Directors recently approved an exception to its Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP) that will assist participants financially impacted by COVID-19. The exception allows those enrolled in WRAP who are unable to make monthly payments on time due to issues related to COVID-19 to remain in the program and maintain eligibility to continue receiving monthly bill credits and arrearage payments through December 31, 2020.

The Board also recently approved changing the eligibility for households from 150 percent to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, and increased conservation and plumbing repair spending per eligible household from $1,000 to an average of $1,500 (with a cap of $2,000) per customer. In addition, for the first time since the program’s inception, eligible rental households are now able to take advantage of conservation and plumbing repairs offered through WRAP to help reduce their water consumption, if the landlord agrees not to increase rent for 12 months. These program changes became effective in GLWA’s Fiscal Year 2021, which began July 1, 2020.