Houston water bills could change in August

HOUSTON — How much you pay for your water bill could soon change. Houston Public Works begins sending notices to customers. The department began overhauling the billing process earlier this year to regain public trust after more than a year of complaints about high water bills.

In May, all residential customers were subject to fixed usage. This means your bill is based on your average water consumption, regardless of what you use. Starting in August, the first batch of customers will move into actual usage.

A customer called us for help understanding her bill. Its set consumption is 1,000 gallons and its actual water consumption is 5,000 gallons. She pays less because it is a fixed use. However, if she uses 5,000 in August and is charged for the water she uses, her water bill will be higher.

You can find out if this will affect you by going to the Houston Public Works website and searching for your account. It will tell you if your meter reading device is working. If that doesn’t work, you’ll stay on the defined usage. If it works, you could be in the first group to move to the new billing in August.

You can also call Customer Account Services to find out when your bill will be transferred to actual usage by calling (713) 371-1400.