Pittsburgh Water Launches Debt Forgiveness Program to Help Families with Rising Costs.
Pittsburgh Water announced improvements to its Arrearage Forgiveness Program, effective September 1, 2026, letting eligible low-income customers have past-due balances forgiven over 24 months by paying current bills on time.
Pittsburgh Water announced a set of improvements to its Arrearage Forgiveness Program, effective September 1, 2026. The program is meant to help income-eligible customers clear their past-due water balances by paying their monthly current charges on time. The utility described the changes as part of an effort to serve customers better.
Residential customers are eligible if they are at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, have a past-due balance, and stay up to date on their current charges each month. Full guidelines are published in the utility's Water Tariff.
Under the program, a participant's existing billed charges in arrears are frozen and then forgiven in monthly increments over 24 months. With each on-time payment of the monthly current charges, 1/24th of the past-due balance is forgiven. According to the utility, that gives participants the opportunity to have the entire overdue amount forgiven within 24 months.
Some customers will be enrolled without having to apply. People already in the existing Arrearage Forgiveness Program will be moved into the new version automatically, as will existing Bill Discount participants who have arrears and are not yet enrolled in the forgiveness program. Both groups can choose to remove themselves.
Staying enrolled depends on timely payment. Participants who fail to make on-time payments of their current charges may be subject to removal from the program, the utility states. Enrolled customers should see a message on their monthly bill that reminds them they are participating and that on-time monthly payments are required to remain in the program.
Customers with questions about participation or eligibility can call the PGH2O Cares Team at 412-255-2457. The page does not state how many customers are expected to take part or the total amount of debt that could be forgiven.
Note: The headline calls this a launch of a new program, but the page describes improvements to an existing Arrearage Forgiveness Program. The page also does not mention rising costs.
At a Glance
- The improved Arrearage Forgiveness Program takes effect September 1, 2026.
- Eligible residential customers are at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level and have past-due balances.
- 1/24th of a participant's past-due balance is forgiven with each on-time monthly payment, over 24 months.
- Current program participants and Bill Discount customers with arrears are enrolled automatically, with an option to opt out.
- Questions can go to the PGH2O Cares Team at 412-255-2457.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.