Behind on Your Aqua Water Bill?
Aqua delivers water and wastewater service to about 1.5 million people in Pennsylvania, concentrated in the Philadelphia suburbs, plus communities across New Jersey, including Camden, Gloucester, and Atlantic counties. If you're behind and a shutoff notice has arrived, filing bankruptcy stops it and clears the balance.
Qualifying filers may be eligible for our $999 flat fee Chapter 7.
Water shutoffs have fewer guardrails
Here's something most people don't know: in Pennsylvania, the winter shutoff moratorium generally protects electric and gas heat, not ordinary water service, so a water shutoff can happen in the middle of January. And the federal water-bill assistance program, LIHWAP, ran out of funding and is gone. Bankruptcy is one of the few tools that actually protects water service: Section 366 of the Bankruptcy Code stops the shutoff, and the past-due balance is typically discharged with your other unsecured debt.
Where Aqua debt piles up
- Water and wastewater on the same account, growing together
- A payment arrangement that fell through
- No winter moratorium protecting ordinary PA water service
- Assistance grants that covered less than the arrears
- A 10-day termination notice taped to the door
What bankruptcy can do
- Call off an Aqua water shutoff the day the petition goes in
- Wipe the past-due Aqua balance in a Chapter 7 filing
- Fold the water and wastewater arrears into a Chapter 13 plan
- Protect ordinary PA water service that the winter moratorium leaves out
- Clear a balance no LIHWAP money is left to cover
Common questions about Aqua Water Bill Debt
Can Aqua really shut my water off in winter?
In Pennsylvania, often yes. The state's winter moratorium is aimed at heat, so ordinary water service isn't covered the way electric and gas are. In New Jersey it's different: the Winter Termination Program has covered water and sewer for eligible customers since 2021. Either way, a bankruptcy filing stops a shutoff in any month.
Is there assistance for water bills?
Less than there used to be. The federal water assistance program, LIHWAP, ended when its funding ran out. Aqua runs its own hardship programs, like Helping Hand in Pennsylvania and Aqua Aid in New Jersey, and payment plans are available. They help going forward, but they don't erase a large balance. Bankruptcy can.
Does Aqua serve my town?
In Pennsylvania, Aqua's biggest footprint is the Philadelphia suburbs, including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties (Philadelphia itself is served by the city's water department). In New Jersey, Aqua serves communities in eleven counties, including Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, and Burlington. The bankruptcy protections are the same either way.
Will the water stay on after I file?
Yes, and Section 366 covers water and sewer the same as gas and electric. Once you file, the past-due balance can't be the reason for a shutoff. Aqua can ask for a reasonable deposit going forward, and water you use after the filing date is a new bill to keep current. The old arrears are handled by the discharge, not a disconnection.