More than $300,000 has been requested by 37 people who faced financial strain as a result of from the 2016 Havelock North water contamination.
There were 37 applications made to the Community Health Assistance fund before it closed on Friday.
The Hastings District, and Hawke's Bay Regional Council both contributed $100,000 towards the $200,000 fund, to help people who had suffered financially through long-term illness related to last year's campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North.
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The Government Inquiry found that neither council had directly caused the outbreak, but both wanted to assist residents struggling to recover from it.
Hastings District Council community facilities and programmes manager Alison Banks said it was expected that the assessment process would take about four weeks, depending on the complexity of the applications.
The applications will be assessed by an independent GP, including interviewing each applicant to see if they fit criteria. The GP's recommendation will go to a panel for a final decision.
The total amount of applications before the assessor is slightly more than $300,000.
Acting mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said decisions on the assessments would be made based on the applicants' health needs and the financial impact of those.
"I want to assure the applicants that each of their situations will be independently and fairly assessed," she said.
"Decisions will be made based on the personal financial costs of applicants suffering from long-term health problems".
If the final total comes to more than $200,000 staff will report back to council seeking direction.
Council will not be releasing individual amounts of applications nor any health details in order to fully protect the privacy of individuals.
Funding was also committed by project management company Stantec.
"We have worked with council to provide water services in Hastings since 2000. Our support of the Health Assistance Fund is part of Stantec's commitment to the community," managing director of Stantec New Zealand and Australia Mark Bruzzone said.