HOUSTON — There's a new way to track, your water bill in the City of Houston. The new dashboard was quietly rolled out over the weekend but is not available for every customer who gets a Houston water bill.
Eligible customers received an email. For some, it was the first time they learned they had a new remote reading device inside their water meter. The email said, "The City of Houston is releasing the new water usage alert portal."
The new dashboard allows you to see water usage hour by hour. A spokeswoman for Houston Public Works told KHOU 11 that the 71,000 customers who have the new devices were given access to the dashboard. The remaining 430,000 customers who have older devices in Houston are not eligible yet for the new alert system.
Houston Public Works Director Carol Haddock told KHOU 11 in a recent interview the department was planning to roll out a new alert system in January. When we asked why it was sped up and released without public announcement, a spokeswoman told us it was ready to go sooner than expected.
It came just last weekend, just days before Houston City Council had water bill relief on the agenda. At that meeting, they debated but did not vote on the proposed ordinance changes. The item was tagged by Council Member Michael Kubosh for further discussion.
If you have an email linked to your account with public works, then you should have already received notice if you are eligible for the alerts. If you do not have an email listed under your account, you should receive a letter in the mail. If you are unsure if you are eligible, call Customer Account Services at (713) 371-1400.
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