The City of Atlanta recognizes that there are times when families and individuals face financial hardships and need help paying for essential services like water. The City offers financial assistance to low-income ratepayers who are having difficulty paying water and sewer bills through an innovative program called Care & Conserve.

The Care & Conserve program takes the further step of helping these ratepayers prevent future high bills by providing assistance with plumbing problems and with the installation of water efficiency devices. Care and Conserve benefits all customers of the Department of Watershed Management by helping to reduce the burden of outstanding debt on the system and by promoting the most efficient use of our water resources.

Why “Conserve”?
There are many good reasons for conserving water. Water is a very finite resource, and one of the elements most essential to life. Less than one percent of all the water on Earth is fresh water that can be used by people. This makes it important to use water wisely and not waste it. Water conservation is the most cost-effective and environmentally-sound way to maintain the world’s water supply. Reducing your consumption of water also directly reduces your water and sewer bill and reduces the demand for more capacity in the City’s water and wastewater treatment facilities.

Why are plumbing repairs included in the program?
Plumbing systems and fixtures must be properly maintained in order to function efficiently. When something goes wrong, a great deal of water can be lost. This can be very costly and wasteful. When repairs are not made in a timely manner, the customer is responsible for paying the resulting high bills. Often, low-income customers will continue to pay unnecessarily high bills because they cannot afford to call a plumber. The Care and Conserve Plumbing Assistance Program offers repairs to low-income water customers with plumbing problems and the replaces high flow fixtures that may lead to high water bills at no cost to the customer.

What are the qualifications to apply for assistance?

Bill Payment Assistance Qualifications
Receive a water bill directly from the City of Atlanta
(Exceptions; Power of attorney and wards of persons with an active account)

– Water service is on and the account is active
– Residence meets structural, meter size and residential qualifications
– Residential occupants meet low-income eligibility requirements (200% of poverty index) defined by Federal Office of Management and Budget
-Renters are required to provide the mailing and contact information for the landlord of the property

Plumbing Assistance Qualifications
– Applicant receives a water bill directly from the City of Atlanta
(Exceptions; Power of attorney and wards of persons with an active account)
– Water service is on and the account is active
– Applicant owns and occupies the residence of the billed water service
– Residence meets structural, meter size and residential qualifications
– Residential occupants meet low-income eligibility requirements (200% of poverty index) defined by Federal Office of Management and Budget

Ineligible Customers
Landlords with properties that have the water bill in their name and duplexes and triplexes with a single meter are not eligible Care and Conserve for assistance.

Where do the funds for Care & Conserve come from?Care & Conserve is funded through voluntary customer contributions, corporate donations, grants and monies set aside by the City of Atlanta.

How do I apply for assistance with my bill?
Customers seeking assistance with water and sewer bills should call our Care & Conserve hotline at 404-546-3620.

How do I contribute or make a donation?
You can donate to the Care & Conserve Program via your online account at http://payatlwateronline.com.

Care and Conserve: City of Atlanta 2017 Applications for Consolidated Plan HUD Grant Programs

The City of Atlanta, Department of Finance Office of Grants Services is currently accepting 2017 Grant Applications for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Housing Opportunities for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) programs.

This year’s Office of Grants Management Annual Technical Assistance Session for prospective applicants will be held Tuesday, March 15, 2016 @ 1:00 p.m., 68 Mitchell Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, 3rd floor, City Hall Old Council Chambers.

*Applicants interested in applying for funding are encouraged to attend the Technical Assistance
Session.

The attached application forms and instructions are available for agencies interested in applying for funding. Completed 2017 Grant applications for CDBG, HOME, ESG and HOPWA funding must be submitted to the Office of Grants Management, 68 Mitchell Street, Suite 15100, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 by 4 p.m. on Friday, May 13, 2016.

Interested agencies can also download the appropriate application by going to the City’s web site: http://www.atlantaga.gov. Once you access the site, follow this path: Government > Departments > Finance > Grant Services. On the Grant Services page, scroll to the Applications for 2017 HUD Funding topic area. There are applications and instructions (for both new projects and continuing projects) for CDBG, ESG, HOME and HOPWA:

Click on the applicable 2017 applications and instructions. A pop-up message will ask you “Do you want to open or save this file?” You can either:

“Save” to your computer and open it later, or
“Open” the file and then “Save As” to your computer

You cannot submit applications via the City’s web site. Please follow the application instructions regarding submission requirements.

Additional questions or concerns can be addressed by contacting the Office of Grants Management at (404) 330-6112, extension 5026.