HOUSTON — Get ready to shell out more money for your monthly water bill in Houston.
The average bill will climb by 9% on April 1, Houston Public Works said in a letter to customers.
The increase is part of a water rate hike plan approved in 2021. It will raise water and wastewater rates annually through 2026.
At the time, the bill for the average single-family home usage of 3,000 gallons a month was $27. By 2026, it will be $48, a 78% increase.
When his proposal was approved, then-Mayor Sylvester Turner said the rate hike, the first in 11 years, was needed to cover infrastructure upgrades to prevent big breaks and boost system resiliency to hurricanes and freezes.
Turner said then that Houston's rates are still lower than a lot of major cities around Texas and the U.S.
Relief for unusually high water bills
Problems with sky-high water bills were the focus of dozens of KHOU 11 News stories in 2023. We learned the city was estimating water usage for tens of thousands of customers resulting in enormous bills that drained a lot of people's bank accounts.
The city blamed aging infrastructure and failed meters.
In December, Houston City Council unanimously approved nine proposals to give customers more options for relief from unusually high bills. Many of the measures changed how Houston Public Works can handle cases.
Houston Public Works Director Carol Haddock told council members she believed the plan would address at least 90% of customer complaints.
In January, new Mayor John Whitmire announced he has his own plan to tackle the high water bills. We're still waiting to hear the details.
