Houston, Texas (KTRK) – Houston Public Works has it He tweeted that he was aware of the potential for a significant increase in some water bills For residents near I-10 and Eldridge Parkway in West Houston.
A spokesperson for Houston Public Works told ABC13 that the reason they issued the warning related to the 500 e-readers they replaced in the area in March.
This device is what electronically transmits your water usage data to the city for billing purposes, and a spokesperson told us that those particular readers listed manufacturer glitches that overestimated how much water homes actually used.
Henry Moreda, who lives in the West Houston area, said his water bills have been all over the place for the past few years.
“I’ve seen fluctuations anywhere from $50 to $200 or $300,” Moreda said of his water bills. “We feel pretty even about our water use.”
Related: It’s not an April Fool’s joke: April 1 marks an increased water rate throughout Houston
The city’s tweet specifically mentions proven readers in that area this year, but Moreda wasn’t the only person we spoke with in his neighborhood who’s had billing problems for over two months.
Public Works said there are 500,000 meters across Houston that are using the problematic portion of West Houston, and that 20% of them are not running due to age, based on the most recent data from February.
They hope to replace most of those 500,000 over the next five years, but said supply chain issues and manufacturer problems are keeping them behind schedule.
The city hoped to replace 50,000 of them last year, but has only come down to about 13,000, according to a presentation compiled for Houston city council members.
In short, the issue tweeted about in West Houston likely went viral due to the huge number of deranged readers.
Public Works said this is what you need to do if you think this is happening to you, but keep in mind they are only talking about wildly variable bills and not increases due to the recent city council-approved water price increases.
They said you needed to call the Account Services team at 713-341-1400 or notify them online at Houston Public Works website.
Once alerted, they said you need to request a management review in order to investigate the high bill.
See also: Katy-based company at HPD Investigation Center bids to operate drinking water plant for City of Houston
If the investigation proceeds, you will avoid having to pay late fees while the situation is settled, but you will have to pay the average cost of your “normal rate” water bills in order to keep your services from being stopped due to non-payment.
Moreda said he’d done it before, and that it was annoying for something he had nothing to do with—especially since sessions can be involved.
“It sure is a pain,” he said.
The city said its billing is fully computerized, so they won’t know about a billing problem caused by the equipment unless you inform them of the problem.
The Department of Public Works sent a statement to ABC13, which included an expression of how frustrating the situation was for residents.
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