13 Investigates found fewer water bills being adjusted despite Mayor's 2024 initiative

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston Mayor Whitmire's plan to make it easier to adjust water bills went into effect in May 2022. However, 13 Investigates found fewer bills are being adjusted, and people are paying more than ever.

It's no secret that Houston has a water bill problem.

"I've spoken to somebody (who said,) 'Well, if you don't pay it, they will turn you off.' 'OK, you're telling me something, lady, I already know,'" Dougles Louis Gordon Cooper told Action 13 in January as she tried to get her water bill fixed.

ABC13 has talked to seniors on fixed incomes and church patrons trying to make ends meet

"It knocked everybody off their feet when we seen it," Deacon of Mount Rose Baptist Church said about their $2,000 water bill.

The Action 13 inbox has been full of people seeking help with sky-high water bills. But in May 2024, Whitmire said he wanted to make it easier to adjust water bills. Has that plan worked? Here's how it compares to years past.

Of the three chunks of time we examined, most bills are adjusted because there is a leak on the residential side of the meter, though bills are also adjusted if they are unusually large or for an exceptional circumstance.

From May 2022 to January 2023, 6,463 bills were adjusted. The average bill price started at $809.42 and was brought down to $172.48.

From May 2023 to January 2024, adjustments were very high, with 11,462 bills adjusted. The average bill price was up from the year before, at $832.52, and was adjusted to $149.80, which is better than the previous year.

But that was all pre-Whitmire. What about after his changes? For May 2024 through January 2025, fewer bills were being adjusted than the year before, and prices skyrocketed. Seven thousand one hundred fifty-eight bills were adjusted. The average bill before adjustment was $1428.93, and the average adjusted price was $394.17.

What does this mean? The average adjusted water bill has increased by 102% in the final cost from 2022 to now.

Under Mayor Whitmire, prices increased. On average, water and wastewater bills increased by 9%.

Public Works encourages all people to set up usage alerts through their website so they can be notified if an unusual amount of water is running through their meter. You can ask for your water bill to be adjusted through the Public Works website.

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