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More than $1 million in funding to help low-income customers pay water bills is heading for middle and northeast Alabama, including the Birmingham area.

Gov. Kay Ivey recently announced the award of $8.7 million in grants across the state to help low-income families pay their water bill. The money will be divided among 18 community action agencies for regional distribution that will cover all 67 counties in Alabama.

The Community Action Partnership of Middle Alabama Inc. and the Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama Inc. cover most Birmingham’s metro area and received over $1 million in funding combined. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is administering the grants from funds provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services according to the release.

“Lower-income families, particularly the elderly or those with children, need access to fresh water in their houses,” Gov. Ivey said in a recent press release from ADECA. “These grants will provide emergency assistance for paying water bills so families will not have to do without access to indoor water and wastewater services.”

This funding will come just in time for Birmingham Water Works (BWWB) customers who received notice that the utility resumed shutoffs for delinquent accounts earlier this month.

BWWB billing practices have returned to normal, officials have said, following a year of mass estimation and incorrect bills during which time shutoffs were temporarily halted.

However, as the Lede previously reported, BWWB customers across the metro are saying that their billing woes are far from over. Some have reported continuously increasing bills ranging anywhere from $300 to $1,000 in the case of one Hoover couple.

Funds should be available in the 18 agencies as soon as paperwork is completed by Ivey and the Community Action Partnership board according to Kendra Williams, executive director of the Community Action Partnership of Middle Alabama.

Williams said customers should be able to call for assistance within the next month. To qualify, applicants must be low income according to the agency’s guidelines, she said.

Applicants must bring social security cards for all members of their household, a photo I.D. for the head of household, most recent proof of income or lack thereof, and a water bill in the name of the head of household, she said.

If they qualify the applicant will then receive a pledge statement for whatever their eligibility amount may be, and the money will be sent directly to the utility according to the ADECA press release.

Williams said applicants may be granted assistance more than once in a calendar year.

If someone needs to apply for water bill assistance in Autauga, Chilton, Elmore or Shelby County Williams said to visit the agency website at www.capmal.org.

To apply for assistance in Blount, Cherokee, DeKalb, Jackson, Jefferson, Marshall and St. Clair counties people can call the Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama Inc. at 1-855-287-1730 according to their website.

Representatives for the Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama Inc. did not respond to requests for comment.

ADECA is administering the grants from funds provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services according to the release.

ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said that “ADECA supports Gov. Ivey in this program that helps families in need continue to receive water and wastewater services,” in the release. “I also commend the local community action agencies who are assisting people in their communities with this need.”

BWWB spokesman Rick Jackson did not respond to requests for comment.