EVANSVILLE — It's been a little more than a month since the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility opened its water bill assistance program to city residents.

Residents within city limits with an active water account are eligible for a $10 monthly credit if their household makes $50,000 or less a year through the program funded by American Rescue Plan money. It is meant to offset the rate increase brought on by the building a new water treatment plant. Vanderburgh County residents were excluded at the request of the Evansville City Council.

The city estimates having 28,000 eligible customer accounts, under the income and residence guidelines, a number the EWSU based on local Census data.

Here's how the program is going as of Aug. 4.

More:You could be eligible for $10 off your monthly Evansville water bill. See if you qualify

There have been 1,683 customers approved for the program. Each account is eligible for $10 for 12 months, meaning $199,200 has been allocated so far from the total bill relief fund.

EWSU does not track how many people live in each household, nor does the application require a customer to note how many people are in their home.

In total, 1,790 applications have been processed. There were 107 applications rejected because they either lived in the county, or made above the $50,000 income level.

That means only about 6% of eligible EWSU customers have applied for the program within its first month.

When the program was finalized at the start of July, EWSU Executive Director Lane Young said he would be surprised if the program had a 30% participation rate.

"It's just people, even if you make it as simple as possible to apply, (they) just don't take advantage of those situations," he said.

According to EWSU, they will reevaluate the bill relief program after 90 days to determine if there is a need for more public awareness.

The program was allotted $4 million of American Rescue Plan money given to the city. The money has been earmarked to keep the program going for up to two years.

There is $3,800,000 still available for the monthly assistance program, as well as to assist customers in disconnect status through the utility's "shut-off relief" program.

Young previously told the C&P there would be $640,000 designated to that program.

Customers can apply online, via phone or in person.

Applicants will receive an email verifying telling them the application went through and if the request was approved or denied.