HOUSTON – New electronic reading devices that are supposed to make it easier for the city to accurately get your water meter reading are causing astronomical water bills for Houston customers. The KPRC 2 Investigates team is digging into these water department issues leaving you ‘DRAINED.’ Investigator Amy Davis also has what you should do even if you haven’t received one of these big bills.
What to check on your water bill right now
If you have your Houston water account on auto-pay you need to check it today. The city is replacing old, outdated electronic reading devices on thousands of meters. You won’t get any notice before they come to your neighborhood and customers who had their device replaced two weeks ago were shocked when they got their latest water bills.
“I think that this has all changed. This is all new,” said Rick Naranjo.
Rick Naranjo is no water meter expert but he can point out what’s different in his box. A few weeks ago he noticed workers attaching these devices to the meter lids and the register that shows his meter reading was also replaced.
But it was his family’s next water bill that really got his attention. The city says he owes more than $23,600.
“I could see maybe a $400, $300, but I said, that’s like a car. If I’m buying a new car.”
His neighbors in Kirkwood South of the Sagement area were also shocked.
“It is a lot more than we were expecting,” said Jessica Sanchez.
Sanchez got a bill for more than $2,600.
Robert Tomlinson next door is looking at a bill for $5,447.
“I mean I would have to have a geyser coming out of my backyard in order to have a bill that high,” said Tomlinson.
They each reached out to the Houston water department.
“They basically told her that they were doing an investigation on it. Then we’d have to call back in 27 days to figure out what’s going on. I told my wife, like, why are we having to call back if it’s their mistake?” said Naranjo.
“I just basically keep checking back to see what happens,” said Sanchez. “That need to pay my minimum so that it doesn’t get turned off.”
Houston public works told us it is:
“Aware that replacing remote meter reading devices has resulted in some customers seeing automatically generated bills in the thousands of dollars. Houston public works apologize for the stress and confusion created by these erroneous bills. We are proactively contacting impacted customers. If you haven’t heard from us and think you have been impacted, please reach out to our customer account services team.”
The new reading devices will transmit your meter reading back to the water department.
We’ve told you how Houston Public Works says most of the reading devices on meters now were installed in the 90s and they don’t work anymore.
Customers getting new water meters also getting new HUGE bills
The city is replacing all of them over the next few years. They are already two years behind schedule because of supply chain delays. But Public Works hasn’t told us exactly where they are installing the new devices first.
We know from these customers that Sagemont received some. Customers near I-10 and Eldridge sent KPRC 2 Investigates bills they received last week. We received one water bill for $4,197 and another for $4,376.
Naranjo rushed home last week when a neighbor let him know a water department employee was looking at his meter. When he arrived Naranjo says the city employee told him he had a leak because the dial on his meter was spinning.
“And I said, “For your information, I just left.” I said, “My dishwasher’s running.” So he had already made the note. He’s already called the city telling them we had a leak before he even talked to me,” said Naranjo.
Naranjo said that same employee told him he was circling back to fix dozens of reading devices a third-party contractor had installed incorrectly. Meanwhile, he and his neighbors wait for the city to correct their bills while they figure out what went wrong.
“Take care of it on your end. You know there’s a mistake. You know, we’re just trying to make a living like everybody else. And I understand they are too. But that’s their job,” said Naranjo.
Why some Houston water customers might suddenly get higher bills
Something else that we’ve noticed over the last year investigating these water bill issues many customers who have been paying $30-something a month don’t even realize they aren’t being billed for any water usage. That’s just a base bill with service charges. As these reading devices are attached to meters that haven’t been actually read in years. So you may be shocked when you receive a bill for five or ten thousand gallons of water because you are not used to paying for actual water usage.
KPRC 2 Investigates asked Houston Public Works if they plan to back bill customers for water they were not previously billed for or if they planned to just bill for current usage moving forward but the city has not answered that question.
Here’s what to do so you are not surprised by a big water bill
- Go online and check your water usage history.
- Download and save your past bills so you can see the amount of water you have been using. In some instances, as these devices are replaced on meters, customers tell us that their usage history is removed from their accounts and if they didn’t save it, they don’t know how much water they used and paid for in the past.