HOUSTON WATER BILL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Restoring Public Trust Through Transparency
Plan Overview
The City of Houston is implementing its plan to prevent customers from receiving inaccurate water bills while tackling structural issues aimed at restoring public trust through transparency.
Remote Read Device Replacement
Customers can track their Remote Read Device replacement using the online dashboard.
Set Usage Billing
Starting April 1, 2024, single-family residential customers will be billed based on a set usage, which will be reflected in their May bill.
Customer Service Enhancements
As part of the improvements, customers can now schedule in-person or virtual appointments.
Learn more about the upcoming changes by viewing our Customer Experience Roadmap.
Improvement Plan Dashboard
The City of Houston is identifying and replacing approximately 125,000 nonfunctioning remote reading devices (RRDs) across the city. A remote reading device is an electronic transmitting device attached to a water meter register that sends a signal back to the city displaying the amount of water that passes through the meter. The City of Houston has experienced an increase in remote reading devices that are no longer functioning (due to age, damage, extreme weather conditions, etc.).
This dashboard can be used to track the progress of replacement for active, residential accounts by neighborhood, or to look up individual account status.
Set Usage
For accounts older than one year (created before March 1, 2023), set usage is calculated using the average water consumption available on the account, up to 36 months.
For accounts less than one year old (created after March 1, 2023), set usage of 3,000 gallons per month will be assigned based on the average consumption for new Houston water accounts.
Customers will return to actual water usage billing once their remote read device has been verified and is transmitting accurate water usage. Customers will receive a notice 60 days before being transitioned back to actual usage billing. Some customers already have a functioning remote reading device on their meters and may return to actual usage as early as August 2024.
Learn more about set usage billing by checking out the Set Usage Flowchart.
Customer Service Enhancements
A portion of the comprehensive plan will enhance the customer service experience through a holistic approach.
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Expand in-person customer service availability. Customers can now schedule in-person or virtual appointments by visiting the following page.
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Employ new quality control measures to alert to possible inaccurate bills and easy resolution process.
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Streamline relief requests into one centralized form.
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Redesign utility bill to make it easier for customers to understand.
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Repealed City Ordinances 47-72 to make it easier to provide accurate adjustments to customer accounts. City Council voted to repeal this ordinance on March 20, 2024.
Translated Documents
Coming Soon
Questions?
- Houston Water Bill Improvement Plan
- Houston Public Works
- 713.371.1400
- [email protected]
Director's Office of Communications
[email protected]
What We Do ...
The Department’s responsibilities include operation and maintenance of the City’s streets and drainage, production and distribution of water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and permitting and regulation of public and private construction.
