World Water Week 2024

About World Water Week

More than two million Americans live without running water and basic indoor plumbing. Without water, people cannot wash their hands, flush their toilets, or clean their homes. For too many American families and communities, this is their everyday reality. The Office of Community Services is working to address the barriers that prevent families and communities from accessing safe water and wastewater with the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)Rural Community Development (RCD) programs, and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG).

LIHWAP

Low Income Home Water Assistance Program Logo

The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) is a federal program that provides funding to states, territories, and tribes to assist households with low incomes in paying arrearages (past due bills) and rates charged to the household for drinking water, wastewater services, or both. LIHWAP prioritizes assistance to households whose services have been disconnected due to non-payment or are about to be disconnected.

RCD

Rural Community Development Logo

The Rural Community Development program (RCD) is a federal discretionary grant program that works with regional and tribal organizations to manage safe water systems by providing training and technical assistance to very small, low-income, rural communities to develop and manage affordable water and wastewater treatment facilities.

World Water Week 2024 Social Media Graphic

Social Media Toolkit

Spread the word about World Water Week! Access the social media toolkit (PDF) which includes X, Facebook, and LinkedIn social media images and shareable social media messages.

Graphic that says Day 01 with an image of a mother and her daughter washing vegetables in a sink

Day One | Kickoff Panel | August 26, 2024

To begin World Water Week, OCS is hosting a panel discussion event, “OCS World Water Week 2024 Kickoff: Understanding Water Affordability,” that will bring together partners from associations, municipalities, and agencies working in different capacities across the country to advance water affordability. The event will have panelists sharing insights on water affordability data and discussing various water affordability initiatives.

View Day One

Graphic that says Day 02 with an image of a barn in a rural setting

Day Two | RCD Story Map | August 27, 2024

To continue World Water Week celebrations, OCS is pleased to release RCD: Flexible Assistance for Rural Communities, an engaging and interactive article highlighting how RCD meets water needs. Read the stories, watch the videos, and click through the interactive map to discover how RCD is impacting residents in rural communities throughout the country.

View Day Two

Graphic that says Day 03 with an image of a faucet with water coming out of it

Day Three | LIHWAP One-Pagers | August 28, 2024

LIHWAP has helped ensure that households with low incomes across the United States have access to water and wastewater services, with over 1.7 million households served. This World Water Week, LIHWAP is releasing national, state, territory, and tribal region one-page fact sheets describing the impact of the program.

View Day Three

Graphic that says Day 04 with an image of a water ripple in the background

Day Four | Tribal Highlight | August 29, 2024

For World Water Week Day 4, OCS is highlighting how tribal communities across the nation leverage OCS and HHS resources to improve well-being for tribal members. Our office is proud to release a blog featuring the work of the Tohono O’odham Utility Authority and updated LIHWAP one-page fact sheets highlighting specific ways we are helping increase access to safe and affordable water and wastewater systems in Native communities.

View Day Four

Graphic that says Day 05 with an image of a water tower in the background

Day Five | LIHWAP Video Release | August 30, 2024

On the last day of World Water Week 2024, OCS recognizes one more community that has leveraged these programs through a brand-new video. LIHWAP and Atlanta: A Partnership for Affordable Water spotlights how LIHWAP, local community action agencies, and the city's water service providers worked together to quickly and broadly implement water assistance.

View Day Five