Proposed plan will increase City of Houston water and sewage bills over next 5 years

Jeff Ehling Image
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Proposed plan will increase Houston water bills over next 5 years
If you currently use 6,000 gallons of water a month, you pay $37.22. With the new plan, the cost would rise over the next five years to $56.20.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- You may start spending more for water in the City of Houston. The city is considering a proposal that would increase fees for water and sewage. So, how much more will this cost you?



The answer depends on how much you use, but this is not just one rate hike. It is possible we will see a steady increase for the next five years.



The city is holding a public hearing Wednesday at 9 a.m. at City Hall to go over the proposed increases.



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Houston is basing its planned increases on a study commissioned back in 2019.



According to the study by Carollo Engineers, if you currently use 6,000 gallons of water a month, you pay $37.22. The cost will rise over the next five years to $56.20.



At the same time, waste water fees could be going up.



Right now, according to the study, customers who use 6,000 gallons of water are paying $45.92 a month.



If the proposals are accepted, that would increase over the next five years to $76.15 a month.





The combined bill, according to the study, would go from about $82 a month to $132 a month over 5 years.



The city has not raised water and sewage fees since 2010. If passed as is, the new rates will impact half a million accounts.



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