We’ve heard from you about your water bill frustrations. This week our KPRC 2 Investigates team has been working to find answers to your concerns about water bills.
We are talking about everything from brown water to unusually high bills. Now to the people who try to get help for high water bills.
If you get a water bill you don’t think you owe you can apply for an adjustment to your bill. Adjustment requests include leak adjustment requests, exceptional circumstances adjustments, and unusually large bill requests.
Some of you have told us you tried to get an adjustment, you made your case and waited weeks, but felt drained when you were denied. So we asked the water department to show us the numbers. How many people asked for adjustments to their water bills over the last two years and how often did the city actually lower them?
- In 2021, the city granted 6,728 adjustments.
- 5,088 were leak adjustments
- A little less than 44% of the people who applied for a leak adjustment got one.
From the start of 2022 through September 1st, the city had adjusted 4,467 out of 11,640 requests, or 38%.
Click the tabs below to compare 2022 to 2021.
WATCH: KPRC 2 Investigates launches new series into Houston water billing issues called ‘DRAINED’
Bill adjustment by zip codes in the Houston area
In 2021, the zip code with the most requests is 77004 where 548 people applied for bill adjustments. Second is the 77007 zip code in the Memorial Park/Washington Corridor with 436 people applying.
Hover your curser of the map to see the zip code and number of water bill adjustment requests.
This may come as no surprise but from January 1 - August 31 of this year, 472 people in the 77345 zip code in Kingwood asked for adjustments. Second is 77007 with 365 requests and just below that with 360 requests 77339 in the Humble/Kingwood area.
Hover your curser of the map to see the zip code and number of water bill adjustment requests.
Earlier this year we introduced you to several people in Kingwood who were dealing with unusually high water bills. In most cases, there were no clear reasons for the high bills. Since our story aired, several people did get adjustments to their bills but most did not get an explanation as to why.
