$4,168.67!? Houston woman sent huge bill despite shutting off water herself to

HOUSTON – A Fifth Ward resident claims despite shutting off her own water, fearing a high bill, she still owes $4,168.67.

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A community advocate reached out to KPRC 2 Rilwan Balogun about the plight of Betty Gregory who received a blue water bill and is being told she needs to pay it by this Friday.

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

The blue delinquent notice states “the bill is based on your actual usage. This water bill is calculated using lower of your actual usage or average monthly usage.”

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The bill shows a 24-month period starting in May 2023. It shows roughly 5,000 gallons of water was used in June and July then it jumped to 45,000 gallons in September then it dropped again.

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

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They will not return to the regular white bill until they receive the notification that their remote reading device is functioning and transmitting accurate readings.

During KPRC 2′s ‘Drained’ investigation, one common thing KPRC 2 Investigator Amy Davis uncovered is people often got large, unexpected bills after their meter sensor was replaced or updated.

With the new water bill plan that kicked off in April, people are put on estimated usage until it is confirmed that they have a working meter sensor.

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

Updated yesterday, June 11, this shows only 15% of people in Greater Fifth Ward still need their meter sensors replaced.

It is unclear if Gregory has an updated meter. KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun is speaking with her shortly and reaching out to public works.

HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT:

Houston Public Works manages 500,000 water accounts within the City of Houston and Customer Account Services is committed to providing accurate water bills to each customer. Houston Public Works encourages customers to reach out to Customer Account Services at 713.371.1400 with any questions they have about their water bill. Our team has set up virtual and in-person appointments to help improve our customer service.

The Water Bill Improvement Plan was announced on April 4, 2024. Since the announcement, Customer Account Services has brought on additional staff to help with the accelerated installation of remote reading devices (RRDs). Customers can track to see if their remote read device is working on when it’s scheduled to be replaced on a dashboard at improvewaterbills.org. The website also provides more information about the Water Bill Improvement Plan.