“Thank God you guys have a program like this”: Participant Perspectives on Water Affordability

• In Event: State Policy, Local Water Systems: Affordability, Conservation, and Infrastructure Finance

Abstract

Water is essential for life and everyday household functions but is increasingly unaffordable. Over 12 million U.S. households struggle to pay their water utility bill, and the cost is rising faster than inflation. With aging infrastructure, intensifying climate change, and reduced federal investment, the affordability crisis is becoming particularly acute for low-income Americans.

The City of Philadelphia has been at the forefront of ensuring water access for vulnerable households. In 2017, the City introduced the Tiered Assistance Program (TAP), the nation’s first income-based customer assistance program, whereby eligible customers pay a flat percentage of household income for the water utility, instead of paying based on the volume of water they use. In 2024, in response to feedback that the TAP application was overly burdensome and contributing to under-enrollment, the City began automatically enrolling customers who were known to be eligible given their participation in other low-income programs and services.

Nationwide, TAP is regarded as a model of innovation in water affordability and while Philadelphia policymakers are working to improve and expand TAP, there is need for participant feedback to inform the future of this and subsequent water assistance programs. Therefore, this embedded mixed methods study examines participants’ perspectives of TAP to uncover what factors influence the acceptability of the program.

To do this, I mailed 1,600 TAP participants a survey to elicit their feedback on the program, its application process, and the use of automatic enrollment. This paper describes the results of the 196 (12%) of respondents who answered both multiple choice and short response questions about their experience. The resulting descriptive quantitative and thematic qualitative analyses point to overwhelming support for the program.

Despite literature suggesting that the TAP application is overly onerous, respondents generally found the TAP application process to be low burden and felt relatively comfortable providing the requisite information. Most felt comfortable with their data being used for automatic enrollment with over 80% agreeing to the statement that the City should automatically enroll likely-eligible residents. Customers discussed how the discounted, flat-rate bill allowed them to manage their household finances and pay their utility bills on time. They reported gratitude that the program offered stability and protected them from water disconnections. Concerns around data security and uncertainty about if or when the program would end, point to opportunities to improve communication about how customer data is used and the parameters of benefit provision. This paper offers evidence that customers are eager to pay their utility bills, and a stable, affordable bill allows them to do so. In turn, this offers a steady, albeit discounted, revenue stream to the utility provider among a population that otherwise may be unable to pay.

This is the only known study of customers’ first-hand experience in a water affordability program. These findings can be used to inform efforts to make the application and recertification process easier, provide considerations for upcoming water affordability legislation, and offer a model for utility providers nationwide.

Author

• Rebecca Suzanne Pepe, Johns Hopkins University
  Presenting Author