California wipes water debt for 4M residents

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, California, on May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the state paid water and wastewater utility bills for 4 million Californians.

Nearly $880 million from the state’s Water and Wastewater Arrearages Payment Program was used to clear the debt of over 1.3 million households and businesses, or 4 million people.

“The arrearages program began in 2021, after Gov. 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,” a news release said.

The city of Los Angeles received about 30% of the 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.

In April 2020, the governor used an executive order prohibiting water suppliers from shutting off service to California households and businesses with unpaid bills.