HOUSTON—Filling up the gas tank is a weekly ritual for many.

When drivers buy gas, they trust that what they pay for is what they’re getting.

But what if they’re not?

Dr. Don Tom and his wife, Judy, said they know all about that.

Early one morning, Tom, an anesthesiologist, stopped at a local station for a fill-up.

But soon after he left, his day came to a stop.

“As soon as I start the engine, it starts stuttering,” Tom said. “Ended up stalling about 50 yards from the gas station.”

And Tom’s problems were only beginning.

He took his car to the dealership, where they made a shocking discovery.

Tom said when mechanics pulled a random sample from his gas tank, they found two liquids: gas and water.

“Harmless” water was in his fuel.  But that water became harmful once it got to his engine.

The whole episode ended up costing Tom and his wife big bucks.

“It was $3,400 worth of damage. That’s a big deal,” Judy Tom said.

Water in your gas tank can ruin fuel injectors and spark plugs, but it can also ruin your entire engine.

But surely what happened to Tom was a rare event, right?

After all, the gas pump he used – like most – had an inspection seal from the State of Texas on it.

The 11 News Defenders discovered an amazing thing about that seal: When it comes to the quality of fuel, the seal means almost nothing. 

That leaves you, the consumer, on your own.

Tom Smith of Public Citizen, a government watchdog group, said the danger of water in fuel is real.

“Station owners have, over the years, stretched their profits by adding water to the gasoline,” Smith said.

He said that’s why when most states send out pump inspectors to see if gas pumps are giving consumers what they pay for, those inspectors also check for water in the fuel.

“The tests are simple and inexpensive. You can literally put the gas into a beaker and the water will float to the top,” Smith said.

Nearly every state does such a check, including Florida, Colorado, California and New York.

Colorado officials said the cost is minimal, and the process takes “only a few minutes.”

But in Texas, state inspectors never check for damaging water in your gas.

That baffles Smith.

“It’s time now for Texas to do what almost every other state does” he said.

Victims who get stuck with the damage bill agree.

“Shame on the State of Texas. Texas citizens deserve better than this,” Don Tom said.

“It’s the consumers that lose,” Judy Tom said.

So the 11 News Defenders took our findings to State Senator John Whitmire.

“The State of Texas is not doing its job,” Whitmire said. “If this doctor and his family experienced it, there’s probably hundreds or thousands that are not documented.”

The Defenders also showed Whitmire how other states require inspectors to check for water.

“That doesn’t even require new dollars or resources,” Whitmire said.

Whitmire was also upset about something else we found.

“In these difficult economic times, you shouldn’t have to worry about the quality of gasoline when you put it in your car,” he said.

Texas also doesn’t do much to make sure consumers are getting the right octane level in their gas.

In fact, legislative documents reveal the Department of Agriculture inspects octane levels at gas stations so infrequently, nearly every station will go more than 14 years between inspections.

And 11 News survey of all 50 states shows Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, Iowa, New York and others are checking gas stations for octane quality as much as once a year.

Diesel buyers in Texas are also out of luck.

Texas never checks the quality of diesel fuel. 

That concerns Texas Commissioner of Agriculture and top fuel inspector Todd Staples.

Defenders: “As it stands today in Texas, if your inspectors become aware that three fourths of that gas tank is filled with water, you can’t shut them down?”

Staples: “And that’s a real travesty, and that’s a loophole in our system and one that we want to correct.  We don’t have the ability to issue a stop sale order when fuel quality standards are not being met.”

After 18 months on the job, Staples has ramped up penalties for gas stations that short consumers at the pump with the quantity of gas.  But what about quality?

Staples: “No one in Texas is looking out or has the ability to respond to consumer concerns.”

But Senator Whitmire said by the end of this legislative session, he will write legislation that will fix the problem.  And he promised to duke it out with any lobbyist who tries to stand in the way.

“That’s a no-brainer. Who would oppose it? I dare ‘em to oppose it. I don’t care. We’ll get it done,” Whitmire said.

State Rep. Ellen Cohen has also become heavily involved in changing the law and giving state inspectors the authority they need to protect consumers.

She became interested initially because the Toms live in her district.

She said she looks forward to working with Whitmire to close the loopholes that exist today.