COVID-19 Water/Wastewater Assistance Program

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chesterfield County leadership quickly recognized the need to provide financial assistance to residents and businesses impacted by record economic downturn and unemployment. As part of a similar response, the county’s department of Information Systems Technology took steps in maintaining continuity of services and promoting safer interactions and transactions by moving many in-person services online and investing in our digital engagement capabilities with new interactive forms technology. Using these newer advanced forms, we developed solutions to enhance the economic support programs in the form of financial relief applications for water and wastewater customers who had fallen behind on utility bill payments. This COVID-19 Water/Wastewater Assistance Program was a model for a positive citizen experience, leveraging many technologies that supported and connected to each other to drive automation and efficiency and deliver impactful benefits to citizens when they needed it most. Nearly 4,800 households in Chesterfield County applied for the program since launch. Of those applications, 4,000 met the criteria for utility bill relief, bringing those families and businesses completely out of arrearage. In total, Chesterfield County administered over $1.4 million in relief through the COVID-19 Water/Wastewater Assistance Program.