After we reported on a Richmond homeowner who received a $582 Aqua Texas water bill, the complaints started pouring in.
Homeowners from communities across the region contacted us with bills they say are dramatically higher than what they paid in previous years.
Among them: a $777.97 bill from a couple who say they were away from home for 20 days in August, an $837 bill that one homeowner says compares with $291 for similar usage last year, and multiple residents who say their monthly bills have topped $1,000.
Some homeowners in Magnolia say neighbors are reporting bills of more than $2,000.
The question we’re now investigating is simple:
What’s causing these bills to climb so dramatically?
Mike and Kathleen Dushinske have lived in The Commons of Lake Houston for 19 years.
They say they’ve never received a water bill like their latest one.
Their August Aqua Texas bill was $777.97.
What makes the bill particularly concerning to them is that they say they weren’t home for 20 days during the billing period.
“We have lived in The Commons for 19 years, never had a water bill like this,” the couple wrote to us.
They’re now asking Aqua Texas, and us, for answers.
Darrell Thorne, a homeowner in Lakes of Mission Grove in Richmond, also contacted us after seeing our original report.
He says his water bill for comparable usage was approximately $291 last year.
This year, it was $837.
He’s not the only resident in Lakes of Mission Grove reporting a significant increase.
One homeowner told us her bills are now regularly exceeding $1,000.
She acknowledges her home sits on an acre and has a pool and irrigation system, meaning her water usage can be higher than average.
But she says the increases she’s seeing are occurring throughout the neighborhood, including among residents with different household circumstances.
For Sarah Jerkins, the bills became so expensive that she made a drastic decision.
Jerkins has lived in Lakes of Mission Grove since 2017. She says her water bills became unmanageable beginning in April.
After disputing one of her bills, she says Aqua Texas sent a technician to check her meter. According to Jerkins, the company determined the meter was functioning properly, and the complaint was closed.
Jerkins says there was no leak.
So she shut off her irrigation and stopped watering her yard.
Her bills subsequently dropped to approximately $200 to $300 a month.
But her landscaping suffered.
She says her grass, bushes, trees and plants have died.
“I’d rather have that than a monthly $1K plus water bill,” she told us.
The complaints extend beyond Lakes of Mission Grove.
A homeowner in Indigo Ranch in Magnolia contacted us after our first story and said residents in the neighborhood have been discussing water bills exceeding $2,000.
The homeowner did not want to appear on television but said the community has had concerns about Aqua Texas service for years.
She says residents are now cutting back on watering their lawns because of the cost.
Another Aqua Texas customer sent us several months of bills and said she intends to file a complaint with the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
We have not independently verified every bill or every claim made by residents, but the number of complaints coming from different communities is prompting us to take a closer look.
There is an important piece of the puzzle currently playing out before the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Aqua Texas is involved in a major statewide rate case in which the company has sought changes to its water and wastewater rates.
The PUCT allowed Aqua Texas to implement interim rates beginning March 9, 2026, while the case continues.
Those rates are subject to the outcome of the proceeding, meaning what customers are paying now may not be the final amount ultimately approved by regulators.
If the final rates are lower than the interim rates, customers could potentially receive credits or refunds based on the commission’s final determination.
But the rate case is only one possible factor behind a higher water bill.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas tells us there are multiple reasons a customer’s water bill can fluctuate.
Those can include an undetected water leak, the purchase of one water system by another utility that then implements a different rate structure, or system improvement charges passed along to customers.
The PUCT says it follows a “complex and comprehensive rate process” with public and customer involvement designed to ensure utility rates are just and reasonable while allowing utilities to maintain safe and continuous service.
For customers who believe their bill is incorrect, the commission recommends first contacting the utility to try to resolve the issue.
If the customer cannot resolve the complaint with the utility, the PUCT encourages them to file a complaint with the commission.
And there is another important point for customers who believe they may have been improperly billed.
The PUCT says that if it finds evidence of improper or non-compliant billing, its Division of Compliance and Enforcement may open an investigation into a utility’s billing practices.
However, the commission says it does not acknowledge or deny whether a particular investigation exists.
The homeowners we’ve spoken with aren’t all identical customers.
Some have pools.
Some have irrigation systems.
Some live on large properties.
Some live in relatively new homes.
And some say they’ve significantly reduced their water consumption.
That’s why we’re looking closely at individual billing histories.
One Lakes of Mission Grove homeowner says her family stopped watering its yard after receiving bills exceeding $1,000.
Another says she was told to investigate a possible leak but says none was found.
The Dushinskes say they were away for most of August and still received a nearly $800 bill.
And Thorne says similar usage that cost him $291 last year resulted in an $837 bill this year.
Those circumstances don’t necessarily prove a billing error.
But they do raise questions about how much of the increase is coming from water consumption versus rates, fixed charges, sewer charges, system improvement charges and other fees.
That’s what we’re now digging into.
Several residents told us they feel they have little ability to change water providers.
Some homeowners believe agreements associated with their subdivisions may restrict residents from obtaining water elsewhere or drilling private wells.
Those claims have not been independently verified, and the rules may differ from one community to another.
Residents have also raised questions about developers and homeowners associations and their relationships with water providers.
We are working to determine what contractual restrictions actually exist and what options homeowners legally have.
For the homeowners who contacted us, this isn’t simply a dispute over one unusually high bill.
They’re looking at hundreds of dollars in additional expenses every month.
Some are changing how much water they use.
Some have stopped maintaining their lawns.
Others are filing complaints with the PUCT or considering doing so.
And many are simply trying to understand why their bills have changed so dramatically.
The PUCT says customers should first work with Aqua Texas to resolve billing concerns. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, customers can file a formal complaint with the commission.
As more customers come forward, we’re taking a closer look at the numbers.
What changed?
Why did it change?
And perhaps most importantly:
Are customers being charged correctly under the rates currently in effect?
Our investigation is continuing.
If you’re an Aqua Texas customer who has seen a significant increase in your bill, send us your billing history, usage information and any correspondence you’ve had with the company or the PUCT.
The bills we’ve received so far show this story goes well beyond one homeowner in Richmond.
