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Assistance for Residents Struggling with Water Bills, House Payments, Rental Evictions

There have been several assistance programs for residents Residents Struggling with Water Bills, House Payments, rental evictions.

Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)

You may qualify for a new state program if you are behind on your water or sewer bill. The MD Department of Human Services, Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) is a water assistance program that provides funds to assist low-income households to pay water/sewer bills that are 30 days or more past due.

LIHWAP Information: An eligible household can receive between $100 – $2,000 in assistance. Renters, homeowners and residents of public housing can apply in-person or online at:

Prince George’s County Department of Social Services Office, 301.909.6300, 425 Brightseat Road, Landover, MD 20785

Online via the Maryland Department of Human Services/OHEP website, here, 800.332.6347. Applications are available in both English/Spanish.

Click here for more details.

Additionally, WSSC will run the month of June, provides bill credits and 100 percent of late payment charges and turn-on fees waived for customers who qualify. During June, WSSC Water will temporarily suspend residential water service turnoffs to encourage program participation. As of late March, nearly 87,000 accounts are past due, totaling nearly $57 million – the vast majority of which are residential customers. To learn more about WSSC Water’s Get Current program and to sign up to be notified when it launches on June 1,visit wsscwater.com/getcurrent. Information on other customer assistance programs can be found at wsscwater.com/assistance.

Prince George’s County and Montgomery County have each received an additional $1 million in water bill assistance.

Maryland Homeowner Assistance Fund


The Maryland Homeowner Assistance Fund provides homeowners with financial assistance for mortgage payments or other housing costs, including WSSC Water bills due to COVID-19 impacts. The program is administered by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

Program Information is available here.

To find out if you’re eligible for assistance from the MD HAF program:www.mdhaf.com/prescreening.
Monitor the progress of your application by going to https://marylandhaf.com/login and logging in. Users must first register for an account.

Facing Rental Eviction?

If you are facing eviction due to delinquent rent and have a court summons, court judgment, Warrant of Restitution, or Warrant for Possession, you may be eligible for the Prince George’s County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).

For assistance, call the ERAP Hotline at (301) 883-6504, then press 9, and a customer service representative will help you.

Or e-mail your contact information and one of the documents listed above to: ERAP@co.pg.md.us (Include the eviction date in the Subject Line if an eviction is scheduled.)

If you’re eligible for assistance, ERAP can pay up to 18 months of late rent or provide funding to help you relocate.

Note: The Emergency Rental Assistance Program has not re-opened. Funding is available for eligible renters with a pending eviction.

Requirements to be eligible to apply for emergency assistance:

The renter must be scheduled by the Sheriff for eviction, or there must be an active Warrant for Possession that would allow the Sheriff to evict, or the renter received a court summons or court judgment.
Rental property located in Prince George’s County.
Prince George’s County residents faced financial hardship arising because of or during the COVID-19 public health crisis.

More information is available here.

[Source: CM Dernoga’s Office]

 

 

Major Water Main Break Leaves Many Residents without Water for Hours

There has been a water main break on Iroquois Street as of 5:30 am today. WSSC sent the following advisories.

A crew has identified necessary water main repair work in your area @ 4910 Iroquois St, College Park that could cause low water pressure or no water service. WSSC Water prioritizes all repairs. Water main breaks are fixed before leaks.

If you have questions, please call our Emergency Call Center 24/7 at 301-206-4002 or email us at emergencycallcenter@wsscwater.com.

The water main break is flooding Rhode Island Avenue near the source of the break. Please drive carefully as you approach the area.

You can watch the video of Rhode Island Ave here , which I took early this morning.

 

Update: 10:10 am: WSSC just shut off the water main to stop the flooding on Rhode Island ave

Update 8:00 pm: WSSC is now reporting that the Water main repair work is finished and the service has been restored in the area @ 4910 Iroquois St, College Park. Discolored water is common after a water main break.

Pipes Ready for Winter?

With the freezing weather, here are some tips from WSSC on preparing your home’s pipes for cold winter weather.

Washington Gas Presentation to College Park City Council

WSSC Offers Assisstance to Residents with Water Bills

WSSC Water is urging customers who are behind on their water and sewer bills to establish convenient payment plans before water service turnoffs resume. Turnoffs for delinquent commercial and government accounts resumed on August 1, and residential accounts will resume on September 13.

Sunnyside Road Resurfacing Work Update

Our City Engineer advised us recently that this week M T Laney Construction, Washington Gas resurfacing contractor, will begin milling and resurfacing all the streets affected by the recent gas main replacement project in the Sunnyside neighborhood. The contractor will be providing custom hi vis uniforms for the workers and a 48-hour notice on those streets that are going to be worked on. Know the importance of hi vis joggers and vests for workers here. Vehicles left on the street when the construction begins will be relocated onto a nearby street by the WSSC contractor. He also sent the attached map showing the affected streets.

Thankfully, now the gas work is actually complete. The paving contractor, M T Laney, is now performing the permanent trench repairs, unlike the repairs made while the gas work was being performed, where the road surface was repeatedly cut open many times and patched temporarily.

Soon after M T Laney permanently repairs and seals all the trenches where the new gas lines were installed those streets will be resurfaced from curb to curb.

We are look at mid May for Sunnyside to be finished.

We appreciate the inconvenience this resurfacing work is causing to the residents. Thankfully, the road surfacing is the last part of the work a utility company (Washington Gas or WSSC) does. So, it looks like the WSSC will not be coming again after the resurfacing work is completed.

Community Meeting with WSSC

NEW DATE: COMMUNITY MEETING WITH WSSC. *This meeting has been rescheduled to the new date below* Topic: Community Meeting with WSSC Time: Mar 29, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting zoom.us/j/92474847949. Meeting ID: 924 7484 7949 Passcode: 417551

Water Shut off Notice – Monday, November 30th

WSSC will Shut Off Water next Monday, November 30th as part of the US 1 Reconstruction Project.

The shut-off will be effective from 9: 00 p.m. to 5:00a.m. In the event of inclement weather or other technical problems, the water service interruption will be rescheduled for, Tuesday the 1st of December from 9:00p.m. to 5:00a.m.

HOW TO PREPARE
• WSSC Water suggests you store water for short-term use. Water for consumption can be stored in clean glass or plastic jars. Water for other purposes can be stored in sinks, bathtubs, laundry tubs, coolers or pots. Please make sure that large containers of water are not accessible to children.
• When your water service is restored, you may experience discolored water or have air trapped in your water lines.
• Discolored water may not be aesthetically pleasing, but it is safe. However, WSSC Water does not recommend using discolored water to do laundry, as clothes can become stained.
• After water main repair work is completed in your area, flush the COLD-water lines in your home or business using the following steps:
o Run all COLD-water taps for about five minutes or until the water runs clear.
o Begin with the lowest faucet in your home or business and then open the other faucets one at a time, moving from your lowest floor to your highest.
o Once the water runs clear, usually in five minutes or less, turn off your faucets in the same order, lowest to highest.
o You should also flush your refrigerator’s water lines.
• If the discolored water persists after running your cold-water lines for five minutes, please report it to the Emergency Call Center at 301-206-4002 or emergencycallcenter@wsscwater.com.

WHAT TO EXPECT
• Lane Closures Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead and expect lane closures, as crews work in the [North and South bound lanes of U.S. RT 1 and Campus Dr. Safety cones will be in place to keep the work zone safe.
• Home Access: WSSC Water will ensure residents have access to their homes during work hours. CONTACT INFORMATION/QUESTIONS
• On-site WSSC Water Inspector: Carrance E. Newsome, cell phone 301-771-1063 Carrance.Newsome@wsscwater.com
• WSSC Water Technical Contract Supervisor: Calvin Johnson, 202.594.6800, calvin.johnson@wsscwater.com

More can be found here.

Water Main Break on Route 1 at Cherry Hill Rd is Fixed – All Lanes are Open


The water main break on Route 1 at Cherry Hill Rd is now ixed. According to City staff, all lanes are now open.
A major water main break happened at Cherry Hill and Balt Ave. near Dunkin Donuts yesterday early morning.

WSSC and SHA had been working round the clock since the incident and fixed the broken pipe yesterday evening.

SHA had set up a detour at Lackawanna St To 47th place. They diverted truck traffics to Rhode Island Avenue from US 1 at Greenbelt Rd.

Residents on the neighborhood streets, especially on Lackawanna st, 47th Place, Hollywood Road, and Rhode Island avenue experienced lots of traffic weaving through city streets to get to the beltway from the south.

COVID-19: Utility Shut-offs Extended through November 15

Utility Shut-Off Moratorium: The moratorium on utility shut-offs has been extended through November 15. Beginning October 1, utility providers could begin to issue notices to residents that their utilities may be shut off starting November 15 for those who are behind. However, some companies like WSSC Water have already announced they are not performing shut-offs. Also, if residents get one of those notices but they enroll in some form of assistance program (every company is offering them), the utility company is not allowed (by law) to perform a shut-off even after November 15. More info and a link to a number of resources across the State is available at: www.psc.state.md.us

WSSC Water and Pepco Resources: Our utility companies have messaging about how they are supporting our residents during these very challenging times, including re-payment options, the waiving of certain fees, assistance programs and more. We are providing this information in addition to the information above about the moratorium so residents who may need to enroll in one of these assistance programs will have the opportunity to do so. The links for both companies are below for your convenience:
WSSC Water: http://wsscwater.com/heretohelp
Pepco: https://bit.ly/2EUPzfr

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