$4,168.67!?😱 Houston Woman Sent Huge Bill Even Though She Turned Off Her Water To Avoid It

HOUSTON – Fifth Ward resident says even though she turned off her water, fearing a high bill, she still has to $4,168.67.

A community advocate contacted KPRC 2’s Rilwan Balogun about the plight of Betty Gregory who received a blue water bill and was told she had to pay it by Friday.

Balogun confirmed the balance after checking with Houston Public Work’s customer account department.

The blue overdue notice says “the bill is based on your actual usage.” This water bill is calculated using the lesser of your actual consumption or your average monthly consumption.

The bill shows a 24-month period beginning in May 2023. It shows that approximately 5,000 gallons of water were used in June and July, then increased to 45,000 gallons in September, and then they fell again.

The City of Houston says temporary blue bills are good for the minimum 90-day period that all single-family residential customers are on the set usage until they receive notification that they will be returned to actual usage. The bill will always be blue if a customer is billed for their actual usage during the set usage period.

They won’t go back to the regular white bill until they receive notification that their remote reading device is working and transmitting accurate readings.

During KPRC 2’s “Drained” investigation, one common thing that KPRC 2 Investigator Amy Davis discovered was that people often received large, unexpected bills after replacing or updating the sensor of their meter.

With the new water billing plan that began in April, people are subject to an estimate of their consumption until it is confirmed that they have a working meter sensor.

You can check your own neighborhood. The city updates the progress of meter sensor updates.

Updated yesterday, June 11, this shows that only 15% of Greater Fifth Ward residents still need to replace their meter sensors.

It is unknown if Gregory has an updated meter. KPRC 2’s Rilwan Balogun will speak with him soon and contact Public Works.

HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT:

Houston Public Works manages 500,000 water accounts in the City of Houston and Customer Account Services is committed to providing accurate water bills to every customer. Houston Public Works encourages customers to contact Customer Account Services at 713.371.1400 with any questions regarding their water bill. Our team has implemented virtual and in-person meetings to help us improve our customer service.

The water bill improvement plan was announced on April 4, 2024. Since the announcement, Customer Account Services has hired additional staff to assist with the expedited installation of Remote Reading Devices (RRDs) . Customers can find out if their remote reading device is working when it is scheduled to be replaced on a dashboard at improvewaterbills.org. The website also provides more information about the water bill improvement plan.