St. Louis Water and Sewer Bill Help: Your LIHEAP Letter Can Halve the Sewer Rate
Revised October 20, 2026
How can I get help with my water bill in Missouri?
Match the help to the name printed on your bill. City of St. Louis water customers call the Water Division at (314) 771-2255 about its assistance programs and repayment plans. Missouri American Water customers apply for H2O Help to Others through a Community Action Agency, which in St. Louis County is CAASTLC. MSD sewer bills can drop 50% through its Customer Assistance Program. Not sure where to start? Dial 211.
Keep reading ↓Fifty percent. That is how much MSD takes off a qualifying household’s sewer rate, for two full years, and one paper that can prove you qualify may already be folded in your kitchen drawer: a LIHEAP acceptance letter.
Almost nobody connects the two. The letter came for the heat bill, got read once at the counter, and slid under the takeout menus. Meanwhile the sewer bill keeps landing. The water bill keeps landing. If you’re behind, you know the sound by now: the flat slap of another envelope on the table, the little drop in your stomach before you tear it open, the way you set it face down so you don’t have to look at the number while you make dinner. This guide is the short way through. Who bills you, who can help, what to bring, and the City deadline most families hear about too late. For the bigger map of local aid, keep our St. Louis help and assistance resources hub close by.
How can I get help with my water bill in Missouri?
Match the help to the name printed on your bill. City of St. Louis water customers call the Water Division at (314) 771-2255 about its assistance programs and repayment plans. Missouri American Water customers apply for H2O Help to Others through a Community Action Agency, which in St. Louis County is CAASTLC. MSD sewer bills can drop 50% through its Customer Assistance Program. Not sure where to start? Dial 211.
That’s the whole map in five sentences. Everything below is the detail that decides whether a phone call ends in a yes: the paperwork each office wants, the income lines, and the order to make the calls so one approval opens the next door. Read it with your bills spread out in front of you. Being behind on a utility bill in Missouri is common, fixable and nothing to be ashamed of, and the people answering these phones hear the same story all day long.
Why does one house get two bills from two different places?
Lay the envelopes side by side under the kitchen light and look at the logos. The sewer bill comes from MSD Project Clear, the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. It started out serving the City of St. Louis and the part of St. Louis County east of I-270, then annexed most of the rest of the County in 1977. Today MSD says it serves about 1.3 million people over 520 square miles. So if you live almost anywhere around here, your sewer money goes to the same place your neighbor’s does.
Drinking water is different. Inside the City, drinking water comes from the City of St. Louis Water Division. Out in the County, Missouri American Water serves St. Louis County instead. Each of the three bills has its own help program. That is the trap. You can do everything right on the water side and still lose ground on sewer, simply because nobody told you it was a second line to stand in.
The letter that cuts a sewer bill in half
MSD’s Customer Assistance Program, called CAP, gives eligible customers a 50 percent reduction in wastewater rates. Once you’re approved, the lower rate starts on the first full month after approval and stays for two years, and MSD mails a renewal application 60 days before it runs out. You can be the owner or a tenant, in a single-family home or a building of up to six units.
The income line is 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, which on MSD’s own table works out to $66,000 a year for a family of four. If you’re 62 or older, or disabled, the line rises to 250%, or $82,500 for four. There’s also an asset test: liquid assets and real estate under $10,000, not counting your home or your car, and people 62 and up skip that test entirely.
Now the part almost nobody uses. MSD gives you two ways to prove you qualify. Option A is the full stack: income proof for every person in the house and a statement of your assets. Option B is a single page: an acceptance letter from another energy assistance program, such as LIHEAP. One approval letter. Two bills lighter. If you got LIHEAP help for heat, that letter can do a second job, so dig it out of the drawer and smooth the creases flat on the table before you call MSD billing at (866) 281-5737.
No letter yet? In St. Louis County, CAASTLC takes LIHEAP heating applications on a split schedule. Households with someone 60 or older, or someone disabled, including a child, can apply starting October 1. Everyone else can apply starting November 1. Get the heat application in first, and you may walk out with the paper that unlocks the sewer discount too.
City water: ask about the tornado-recovery rate before the window shuts
If your water bill says City of St. Louis Water Division, this is the call to make first. After the May 16 tornado, the City opened a Tornado Recovery Water Affordability Program: a 50% discount on eligible water charges through December 2028, plus a 50% credit on delinquent balances that piled up since that storm. The Water Division lists enrollment as open through October 31. You can enroll online or in person at the STLRecovers Outreach Center on Natural Bridge. If you’re reading this after that date, call (314) 771-2255 and ask what replaced it, because the City has more coming.
Here’s what’s coming. The Water Division says an Affordability Rate, established by city ordinance, is launching in the fall to help customers who qualify. That is a standing rate written into local law, not a one-time grant that dries up when a federal check runs out. Ask about it by name.
You may also have heard about the $500 TAP credit. It was paid for with $1 million in federal ARPA money, first come, first served, for City residents at or below 80% of area median income who were more than 90 days behind. The Water Division’s own page now labels it discontinued, so don’t build your plan around it. What the Division still offers is a repayment plan, tailored to your circumstances. Hearing a calm voice on the phone say “let’s set up a plan” is worth more than another week of dread.
People are asking
What is the St. Louis water bill aid program, and how can I apply?
For City of St. Louis water customers, the current one is the Tornado Recovery Water Affordability Program: a 50% discount on eligible water charges plus a 50% credit on delinquent balances since the May tornado. The Water Division lists enrollment as open through October 31, online or in person at the STLRecovers Outreach Center. The older $500 TAP credit is now marked discontinued. Call (314) 771-2255 to apply or ask about repayment plans.
City of St. Louis Water Division (water, City only)
Phone: (314) 771-2255
Ask about: the Tornado Recovery Water Affordability Program, the coming Affordability Rate, and a repayment plan
In person for tornado recovery: STLRecovers Outreach Center, Natural Bridge Ave.
Online: stlwater.com, then Resources, Assistance Programs
County water: H2O Help to Others, before the shutoff notice
If the bill says Missouri American Water, your emergency fund is H2O Help to Others. It was created by Missouri American Water and Missouri’s Community Action Agencies, and it is paid for by the company plus customers who check a box on the back of their own bill. Think about that for a second: a neighbor you’ll never meet chipped in a few dollars so your faucet keeps running. Taking that help is exactly what it was built for.
In St. Louis County, CAASTLC handles it. The program can stop a disconnection or restore service to a home, and CAASTLC says plainly that a disconnection is not required to apply. Household income can’t exceed 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, which on CAASTLC’s table is $64,300 a year for a family of four, and a caseworker looks at your basic needs. Don’t wait for the red notice.
Missouri American also offers an installment plan for residential customers in hardship: pay 25% of the past-due balance up front, then the rest over a schedule of up to six months, while keeping up with new bills. The catch is timing. The company says to contact it before your water is shut off to keep your eligibility for that plan. Once the tap coughs and goes dry, that door narrows.
H2O Help to Others (Missouri American Water customers)
Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTLC)
2709 Woodson Rd., Overland, MO 63114
Main line: (314) 863-0015
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
LIHEAP energy line on the state’s agency list: (314) 446-4420
Missouri American Water customer service: 1-866-430-0820
Can your water be shut off in winter in Missouri?
Yes, and this is the myth that bites in January. Missouri’s Cold Weather Rule runs from November 1 to March 31, and the state rule that defines it talks about the discontinuance of gas and electric service. So a cold snap that protects your furnace does nothing for the kitchen faucet, and a family can sit in a warm house with dry pipes.
What actually protects your water is getting into a program or a payment plan before the shutoff date. If heat is also on the line, our guide to the Missouri Cold Weather Rule and how to stop a winter shutoff covers gas and electric step by step.
And the heat application does double duty, as you saw above. Our walkthrough of LIHEAP energy assistance in St. Louis gets you to that acceptance letter, which MSD accepts as proof for the sewer discount.
Rent, groceries and the water bill all due the same week? Emergency cash and TANF help in Missouri is the next page to open.
Is there statewide help for water, not just heat?
Missouri’s Department of Social Services still keeps a page for LIHWAP, the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program. It describes a one-time payment of up to $750 for a water and/or sewer bill, from November through September, and it can cover disconnection or reconnection fees, a threat of disconnection, and past-due or current bills. You must be responsible for the bill (renters count), have $3,000 or less in the bank, and fall under the income line.
I could not confirm that LIHWAP money is flowing right now, so treat it as a question, not a plan. Call your contracted agency or 855-373-4636 and ask one thing: “Are you taking LIHWAP applications today?” If the answer is yes, apply the same day. Keep the lanes straight, too. LIHEAP itself is for home energy bills: heating and cooling. For the full list of who covers which bill, see our roundup of essential St. Louis utility assistance programs.
Not sure who to call first? Dial 211
When the envelopes blur together, one number sorts them. United Way 211 connects you to a trained resource specialist 24/7. Have your bills in hand when you call. Read the specialist the name at the top of each one, the amount past due, and any shutoff date. Then write down every name and number they give you on the back of the envelope itself, so the next call is already waiting for you.
United Way 211 (start here if you’re unsure)
Dial 211 or 1-800-427-4626
Trained resource specialists, 24/7
MSD Project Clear: Customer Assistance Program (sewer)
Billing and CAP: (866) 281-5737
Customer service: (314) 768-6260
Online: msdprojectclear.org, then Customers, Billing, Customer Assistance Program
People are asking
Where can I get utility bill assistance in Missouri?
Start with LIHEAP through the Missouri Department of Social Services: a one-time payment toward heating or cooling from October to May, plus crisis help (ECIP) of up to $800 in winter and $300 in summer when you have a shutoff notice. For water and sewer, the state’s LIHWAP page lists a one-time payment of up to $750. Call 855-373-4636 or dial 211 to reach the agency that serves your area.
Frequently Asked Questions
What emergency utility assistance programs are available in Missouri?
LIHEAP is the main one: the Missouri Department of Social Services pays a one-time amount toward heating or cooling, and its Energy Crisis Intervention Program helps when you have a disconnect notice, up to $800 in winter and $300 in summer. For water and sewer, the state’s LIHWAP page lists up to $750. Then check MSD’s sewer discount, H2O Help to Others, and the City Water Division’s programs.
How to get emergency help with bills?
Dial 211 or 1-800-427-4626. United Way 211 connects you to a trained resource specialist 24/7. Have each bill in hand, with the past-due amount and any shutoff date, and call the utility itself too: Missouri American Water says to reach out before a shutoff to stay eligible for its installment plan.
How long does LIHEAP assistance last?
Regular LIHEAP Energy Assistance is a one-time payment for one fuel type, offered from October through May. The crisis program runs in two seasons, based on funding: winter ECIP from November to May, and summer ECIP from June to September. Your approval letter matters beyond that season, though, because MSD accepts a LIHEAP acceptance letter as proof for its two-year sewer discount.
How many times can you get energy assistance in Missouri?
The state describes regular Energy Assistance as a one-time payment for one fuel type in the October to May season. Crisis help is separate: winter ECIP can pay up to $800 and summer ECIP up to $300, each based on funding and a shutoff notice or similar emergency. Ask your contracted agency, CAASTLC in St. Louis County, what is still open before you apply.
What is the $500 direct cash assistance program in Missouri?
That was a City of St. Louis program that sent relief funds to City residents hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the City says it has completed. The City Water Division’s separate $500 TAP credit is now marked discontinued too. For current water help in the City, call (314) 771-2255 and ask about the tornado-recovery rate and repayment plans.
How can I reduce my water bill?
Go after the rate, not just the balance. City water customers can ask about the Tornado Recovery 50% discount and the coming Affordability Rate set by city ordinance. Sewer customers can apply for MSD’s Customer Assistance Program, a 50% cut in wastewater rates for two years. Missouri American Water customers can split a past-due balance into 25% down and up to six months of payments.
| ★ | Somebody you love may be staring at the same two envelopes tonight. Send them this page so they know about the LIHEAP letter before they pay full price on sewer for another month. Share it on Facebook or text the link to one person. If you run a plumbing company or a leak-repair crew, the families reading this are watching every gallon, and they will call the plumber they can find fast. Put your business in front of them with a Gold listing. Run a nonprofit that helps neighbors with bills? Add it free on St Louis Near Me Directory so the next family finds you. |
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