We know Houston water customers are ‘DRAINED’ dealing with huge bills you don’t think you owe. Investigative reporter Amy Davis has shared dozens of cases from customers looking for help. KPRC 2 has the hard numbers to show the growing problem and which areas of Houston have the most people asking the city to adjust their bills.
When you get a Houston bill you don’t think you owe, you can request an adjustment to lower it.
Types of water bill leak adjustments
There are three types: an exceptional circumstances adjustment, an unusually large bill adjustment, and a leak adjustment.
We checked and discovered the number of customers requesting adjustments in 2023 is up 48% from 2022. We are limited to the data the city of Houston would provide us.
From January to August 2022 = 11,640 customers applied for adjustments.
During the same time in 2023 = 17,276 customers requested adjustments.
How many Houston customers get water bill adjustments approved?
In 2022 the water department approved 38% (4467 approved) of the requests to lower bills.
This year they approved 45% (7830 approved).
But what is most telling is the number of people asking for their bills to be lowered because they were substantial. This means there is no explanation for why the usage spiked more than 200% or what the customer normally uses.
The number of these adjustment requests jumped by 65% from 2022 to 2023.
3 areas in Houston where the most number of customers asked for water bill relief
- Jan - Aug 2023 = 538 requests from zip code 77345 in Kingwood
The city approved 33% or 180 customers. This means 67% of the customers were out of luck.
- 609 requests for bill adjustments came from zip code 77007 in Houston Heights
The city approved 45% or 274 customers.
- The area with the most requests for bill adjustments was zip code 77077 in the West Houston area of Eldridge and West Oaks
- 776 customers here asked the city to lower their unexplained high bills this year.
The city approved 33% or 292 customers.
What is important to keep in mind is that when the city agrees to adjust your bill because it was unusually and inexplicably large no one knows what caused the problem. No one from the city follows up to try and find out. But you can only get one of those adjustments a year. So if it happens again you are on the hook for the unexplained large bill. Check here for details on bill adjustments.
City of Houston water bill adjustments by the numbers
2022 totals (from Jan - Aug)
11,640 applied
4467 approved
38% of all adjustments requested were approved in 2022.
2023 totals (from Jan - Aug)
17,276 applied
7,830 approved
45% of all adjustments approved from January to August of 2023.
Requests for help with abnormally large bills increased by nearly 50%.
Exceptional circumstances adjustment form
Info from the City of Houston website: The City of Houston code of ordinance, section 47-75.1, allows a residential, not-for-profit, or commercial customer one credit adjustment during a twenty-four month period for an exceptional circumstance. A credit is allowed if the water/wastewater account usage is unexplained and over five hundred percent (500%). the credit will not exceed $4,000 and two (2) Month timeframe
Unusually large bill adjustment
Info from the City of Houston website: The City of Houston code of ordinance, section 47-75, allows a single-family residential customer one credit adjustment during twelve months for an unusually large bill. The credit allowed is for unexplained usage over two hundred percent of the average usage for the water/wastewater account below please note: Customers must make application within 6 months of receipt of the high bill.
Leak adjustment
Info from the City of Houston website: The City of Houston code of ordinance, section 47-75, allows a single-family residential customer one credit adjustment during twelve months for an unusually large bill. The credit allowed is for unexplained usage over two hundred percent of the average usage for the water/wastewater account below please note: Customers must make an application within 6 months of receipt of high bill.