Houston – Since the fall of 2021, we have reported stories of Houston water customers drained by astronomical bills they don’t understand. Calls and complaints to the water department are met with the same response: The customer must have a leak and they are responsible for paying the outrageous bills.
At the root of Houston’s water bill crisis are tens of thousands of meter reading devices that are no longer functioning. More are failing every day. While Houston Public Works plans to replace the remote read devices on all 500,000 water meters, it is a slow process. We asked for the records to find out where they have already installed approximately 85,000. The water department won’t alert you before they replace yours, and you may not even notice a difference when they do. In this video, we show you how you can tell if you have an old remote read sensor or a new one.
By the Numbers
500,000: Total number of City of Houston Water Meters
125,000: Total number of water meter remote read sensors that do not work at all (as of Dec. 6, 2023)
85,000: The number of new water meter remote read sensors the city has replaced since 2020 (as of Feb. 22, 2024)
10: The number of years Houston Public Works Director Carol Haddock says it will take to replace all 500,000 remote read sensors. Replacements started in 2020.
Where the new devices have already been installed
Click on any Houston zip code on the map to see how many devices the city has installed.
From Houston Public Works
When we asked the deployment plan for the remaining new sensors, Houston Public Works public information officer Erin Jones emailed us this statement:
“Houston Public Works is committed to providing accurate water bills for City of Houston water customers every month. This includes reading and maintaining more than 500,000 meters throughout Houston. Houston Public Works has installed over 85,000 electronic remote reading devices to date.
Our team is actively working with Mayor John Whitmire to finalize details of his plan to address the community’s concerns over their water bills and the deployment of remote reading devices. Director Haddock did make that promise, and the mayor and Houston Public Works aim to brief city council members and our residents when the plan is ready to launch. We are committing to getting it right for our deserving Houstonians.”
QUICK ACCESS: YOUTUBE playlist with the entire ‘DRAINED’ series.