After nearly two years of KPRC 2 Investigates DRAINED series exposing failures at the Houston Water Department, Mayor John Whitmire announces major changes. This comes a few weeks after Mayor Whitmire talked with Amy Davis about the ongoing issues and his work to find solutions for people. These new changes start right now and you will already notice changes on your water bill.
“I know Houstonians are tired of hearing about outrageous water bills,” said Houston Mayor John Whitmire. “When I was elected to fix things, public safety was number one concern. Number two the city’s outrageous water bills and transparency at city hall.”
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“It’s a solid plan that will address fair and accurate billing.”
Customer experience roadmap for new water bill plan
sensor
What if I just moved to Houston? How will they figure out my water average?
The Houston Mayor explains that if you are new to Houston there is a plan for averaging your water bill.
“If your family has been here for less than a year, we will use an average of 3,000 gallons which is the average in Houston for a single residence family of three,” said Whitmire.
“If you’ve been here longer, we are going to take an average three months excluding the drought and freeze and come up with fair and accurate billing.”
How long will water customers be on a fixed bill?
Public Works Director Carol Haddock said people will be on a fixed bill until it is confirmed their meter sensor is working. So, this could be a different timeline for everyone.
“The plan to bring everyone back will depend on if you have a working device,” said Public Works Director Haddock.
Here’s the process for bringing your billing back to actual usage and not just the estimated usage.
- Your bill will remain on set usage.
- Water department will verify you have a remote read device that is working, reading consistently and giving accurate information.
- There will be a 30-day working window to get verification that it’s working.
- 60 days later put back on actual billing.
In-person help for people with water bill issues
One big win for these water bill changes is more help for customers. In the past a big complaint from people is they can’t sit on the phone or computer for hours with customer service representatives. There is now an option to make an appointment to meet with someone to help you.
What if you get new sensor and it shows you are using way more water than the fixed rate will they have to back pay?
During the Thursday press conference with the Mayor, Amy Davis asked about what would happen if the new sensor shows you actually used more water than you were billed for while you are on the fixed rate plan. Here’s what Haddock had to say about that -
“We will take that final read and we will compare it and if you used more - the reason we are using an average from your account is because that average of a year should balance out. But if you used more we are not going to back bill that. We will start with the read when we bring you back on and you will start there as basically at zero and then we will go forward from there.”
“If we take that read and we determine that fixed use that we billed you is more than you actually used then we are going to credit that back to you in that bill cycle that you would get after that. So you will start with a credit and then you will move forward with your actual usage.”
What should I do if I have a large water bill right now?
The Mayor says if you have a large water bill or get one in the mail right now, DO NOT PAY IT. You should call customer service or schedule an appointment for help. Mayor Whitmire says if that doesn’t work you can call his office.
Broken meter sensors are being fixed
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.
“125,000 broken water sensors. Before I got here the city was on a five-year plan to get those replaced that has been moved up to next January,” said the Mayor.
Here Amy Davis explains how to check if your area has new meter sensors.
New dashboard ‘Improve Water Bills’
The City created a dashboard for customers. ‘Improve Water Bills’ you can type in your account number and see if you have a new sensor. You can also see the areas of town that have broken sensors.
Here are a few highlights from the FAQ section of the new dashboard.
How do I know if my remote reading device is working?
This dashboard will allow single-family residential customers to check to see if their remote reading device is functioning. Whether your device is functioning or not, you will receive a water bill with your set usage until the device can be upgraded or your current device can be verified as accurate. Houston Public Works is working to make sure single-family residential customers have functioning remote reading devices by the end of December 2024.
How can I track my water usage?
Customers can create an online account at houstonwaterbills.org. This will allow them to choose how they want to be notified of high-water usage on their property. The account holder must set the threshold for when they will receive notifications of a possible leak.
Once an account is registered, a customer can choose between the following options:
• High usage during the current billing cycle
• Daily usage alert
• Multi-day usage alert
• Vacation alert (notification of high usage when an accountholder is out of town)
Why isn’t set usage available for all water customers?
Multi-family and commercial customers have less variability in their water usage throughout the year and would not significantly benefit from moving to set usage during the replacements of remote reading devices. Single-family residential customers represent the majority of customers impacted by failing remove reading devices and have substantial variability in water usage month to month, from summer to winter. The set usage allows Houston Public Works to provide more accurate water bills, without estimated bills, while also speeding up the replacement of failed devices.
‘DRAINED’ Investigation into City of Houston water bill issues
During our ‘DRAINED’ Investigation Investigator Amy Davis and Producer Andrea Slaydon have worked to bring you countless stories from Houstonians frustrated and confused about Houston water bills. For nearly two years now this investigation has always been about transparency with city leaders and helping get answers for so many people.
Amy Davis has recovered more than $100,000 for water bill customers.
Along the way of this investigation, there were changes that did help customers.
Our team is dedicated to following this as customers get relief. Email Amy Davis or Andrea Slaydon if you still have questions.
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