HOUSTON – If you haven’t received your April water bill from the City of Houston, you may be pleasantly surprised. Several customers reached out to Investigative reporter Amy Davis curious about why they received credits to their bills. We are explaining why water customers are getting money back and what to look for on your own bill.
What is this credit on my water bill?
Some customers not only owe nothing this month, but they are also getting credits that will be applied to future bills. The water department applied these adjustments across the board and while no one wants to pay more than they owe some customers say they didn’t think the city owed them any money.
Several customers sent us their bills to show the credits they are seeing. Customer Gary Ruby says he ended up with a $27 credit after the city adjusted his bill and took $80 off.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Ruby.
Ruby’s bill shows a $36.88 adjustment he never asked for.
“My actual reading was 4,000. I would not dispute that at all. I think it’s an honest average of what it’s doing,” said Ruby.
We’ve investigated outrageous water bills draining customers for nearly two years. We keep getting answers to your questions about water bills. But these credits had us asking Houston Public Works why the flood of refunds?
A spokesperson replied:
“The adjustments are from increased water usage from the January winter storm. The credit was processed in our system in march and reflected in a customer’s April bill.”
“My adjustment was for the 2024 freeze which I’m not aware that there was a problem in 2024,” said Ruby.
We checked our archives. From January 14th all the way to the 17th Houston suffered through freezing temperatures and possibly some frozen water pipes that caused leaks. The result is these “freeze credits” on our water bills. Here’s how the city explains it.
“The water department determined your average usage by looking at your last three years of water bills. If you used more than your average for January, February or March. They applied a “freeze credit” to your account so you wouldn’t pay for more than your average even if you didn’t notice increased usage related to the freeze.”
“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Ruby.
It seems like crediting so many customers who didn’t have what they believed was abnormal usage would cost the city quite a bit of money. We asked about that.
A spokesperson told me these credits and the entire water improvement plan will reduce some immediate revenue to the city but that the overall investment will help provide accurate billing and cost savings moving forward.
Customers can find this information within the FAQ on the Improve Water Bills website:
What about my water bills from usage before April 1, 2024?
Single-family residential customers who used more than their set usage between January 16, 2024 - March 2024 will receive what’s called a “freeze credit” due to a rise in water leaks following the January 2024 freeze. Customers who qualify should see these credits on their late March and/or April 2024 water bills.
Additional FAQ regarding water bill charges and credits
What happened to the set usage notification each customer is supposed to receive telling them what their set usage will be before they get their first bill based on the set usage? Is that still going to happen?
Set usage letters are going out to customers throughout April. Customers will first set their set usage on their May bills. The city said before they are using people’s “set usage” to determine if they used more than that amount for the months of Jan, Feb & March.
Where is the money coming to provide all of these credits and adjustments?
The city says: The credits refund customers who paid more for using more water during the January freeze. The Water Bill Improvement Plan will reduce some immediate revenue to the utility. By expediting the installation of customers’ remote reading devices, Houston Public Works can fix the issues that have impacted customer service and billing accuracy. This investment will help us provide accurate billing and cost savings going forward.
Do you have any questions or concerns about your Houston water bill? Keep sending us your questions and we will get answers! AskAmy@kprc.com.