Houston – After nearly two years of our KPRC 2 Investigates ‘DRAINED’ series, we are learning of big changes to help customers frustrated by water bill issues in Houston.
During an exclusive interview with KPRC 2 Investigative Reporter and Anchor Amy Davis, Mayor Whitmire revealed three key details that will be part of his highly-anticipated water bill relief plan.
“It is a broken system across the city,” Whitmire said. “I doubt if it wasn’t for your reporting, (KPRC 2′s DRAINED Investigation) I doubt that we would even be having this conversation.”
The Mayor was supposed to release his new plan this week but said he was not satisfied with Houston Public Work’s updated plan and wanted to ensure all of the gaps were closed before releasing it to the public.
“I thought for sure yesterday I was going to roll out a plan this week, but after hearing from Public Works and seeing some of their proposals and some of the gaps, I said, ‘No. We’re going to wait and do it right,’” Whitmire said. “I’m going to do it right. It’s going to be comprehensive. It won’t be perfect, but it sure will be a heck of an improvement on the billing part of it, the accuracy of it, the fairness of it.”
Biggest reason for high bills: outdated meter sensors
Whitmire said the reason behind the water issue is due to the sensors that past their life span and need to be replaced.
“Public Works has identified about 100,000 from the pool of 500,000 resident users, so about 20% of our meter sensor readers got little computer chips that are broken and worn out.”
This is something we uncovered time and time again while talking with water bill customers dealing with high and unusual bills.
What does the new Houston water bill relief plan include?
- Replacing 100,000 broken sensors around the city of Houston in nine months, instead of the 5-year schedule former Mayor Sylvester Turner and Public Works planned.
- New computer system that is aimed at catching high water bills. Once the bill is caught, the system is supposed to send a notice to the customer that their new bill will be an average of their three lowest bills from last year.
- In-person customer service center where customers can go and speak with someone about their high water bills. No timetable for when this center will open.
Houston Public Works, led by Carol Haddock, will spearhead the initiative to address this problem.
“I want accountability in the water department,” Whitmire said. “I think it’s a leadership problem. The administration should have made this a greater priority.”
Mayor Whitmire emphasized the need for accountability in the water department and held both Haddock and other department leaders responsible for the ongoing issues.
“We’re in the middle of transforming the water building system, getting back to those broken water lines. I think you’re seeing a quicker response. People in most departments realize I came into this job to make a difference. I’m going to make a difference and everyone’s going to be held accountable, not only Carol, but each and every department. Everyone’s under review.”
The mayor also added that customers who are currently dealing with high water bills should call the water department and then call the mayor’s office to have someone help them with their bills. He said customers will not have to pay high water bills.
“I’m aware of the problem and we are going to fix it once and for all,” Whitmire explained.
‘DRAINED’ Investigation into water bill issues - How did this start?
KPRC 2 Investigates ‘DRAINED’ investigation is about outrageous, irregular, and inaccurate water bills. Here’s how it started: In 2021, Ray Dittmar called KPRC 2 Investigates for help. He was stuck with a big water bill he didn’t think he owed.
“I was shocked, to say the least,” Dittmar tells us.
More and more people began reaching out.
Julia Benjamin on Houston’s Northeast side tells us, “I cannot pay no $800 a month on no $38,000 water bill.”
Kingwood’s Jackie Byers had an issue too. “Here it is 55,000 gallons of water and a bill for $1,445.”
Then, we met Edward Williams for Acres Homes.
He lived without running water for four years. Williams gave up trying to resolve his water bill issue because of the confusing process.
“My grandkids wanted to come over and spend the weekend with pawpaw, and I couldn’t do it,” he says.
We knew we could not drop this. More had to be done. So we kept bringing you the stories of people in the Houston area who could not get the help they deserve.
In October 2023 our investigation and your frustrations hit a boiling point
There have been massive changes in the leadership for Houston since last October when we invited you to sign up and join us at a city council. Twenty-seven people out of the hundreds we’ve heard from signed up to share their stories and demand answers.
Weeks later city council did pass changes to ordinances to help customers. But, we quickly noticed those changes were not doing much to help customers.
We knew the new mayor was working on a plan and we have been waiting to hear about it. We will continue following the latest developments on the water bill changes in Houston.