'No ammunition': Customers say they feel silenced in water bill fight
CLEVELAND, Texas (KTRK) -- From a small desk just off her kitchen in Cleveland, Anna Miller said she and the water customers she's representing are locked in a fight where they feel like they're the underdogs.
"This is where I spend just about my entire day and the evening," Miller said. "The rising prices, especially with the system improvement charge, it's devastating."
Miller is among about two dozen Texas Water Utilities customers across the state who are trying to stop their private water company from imposing an additional monthly fee on their bills.
She said the company is trying to silence them, and she's running a statewide resistance against the multi-million-dollar company.
Texas Water Utilities wants more money from customers, specifically for a "System Improvement Charge."
If approved by the state, the charge would recoup $81.8 million, the company said it spent on upgrades, according to a letter Texas Water Utilities sent customers last October.
For customers, that's an extra $16 to $33 a month, depending on whether Texas Water Utilities provides just water or both water and wastewater to their homes.
Texas Water Utilities uses regionalized pricing, which means a customer in Magnolia could be paying to fix a pipe hundreds of miles away, while their own neighborhood sees zero improvements.
None of it is sitting well with customers 13 Investigates spoke with over the last several months, as residents express frustration over base fees the company charges, making monthly bills for customers in certain areas roughly $150 before usage.
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"We're in a situation that $17 they want to charge us a month, it's going to hurt us,'" said Connie Stover, a Texas Water Utilities customer who also lives in Cleveland.
Stover and Miller are two of the dozens of "intervenors" in Texas Water Utilities' case to tack on a system improvement charge, meaning they're playing an active role in trying to protect consumers from the extra cost.
They aren't lawyers and they don't have degrees in utility law, but they are standing in the company's way at the Public Utility Commission.
"All the jargon, what they bring out, it's like, 'OK, what's this all about,'" Miller said.
Miller said she taught herself how to fight the charges by "reading up on every law I can get my fingers on, rules, laws."
Stover said, for her, hiring an attorney is not an option.
"With what? My good looks or my winning personality. I live on a budget."
Miller's formal testimony filed in the case is nine pages long. In it, she calls the company's tactics "corporate greed" and said they've turned customers into a "free bank."
But the utility company fought back. At the beginning of March, Texas Water Utilities filed a motion to strike portions of the intervening customers' testimonies, arguing the customers' testimonies rely on hearsay and that their complaints about billing and service are "irrelevant" to this fight to be reimbursed for system improvements.
"Our evidence is irrelevant," Miller said. "It was devastating."
This week, a judge agreed with Texas Water Utilities that the testimony is not relevant and struck it from the proceeding, according to a document filed in the case.
In the majority of the testimonies, that leaves only basic information to be considered in the overall decision, like name, address, employment status, and education and professional background.
Stover said she feels like David versus Goliath, except "I have no ammunition."
In a statement, Texas Water Utilities told 13 Investigates that striking testimony is not uncommon and preserves time and resources.
"As the judge ruled, only certain topics are within the scope of (System Improvement Charge) proceedings as outlined by the (Public Utility Commission of Texas). Issues regarding customer service, water quality, billing, and other similar considerations are important but should be addressed in venues outside of the (System Improvement Charge) proceeding."
TWU said the $81 million system improvement charges were made between Jan. 1, 2024, and Aug. 31, 2025.
"The aging of water and wastewater systems is something all utilities across Texas and our country are facing. Regulated water utilities like TWU must make critical, timely investments to ensure continued reliable service to customers," the company said in a statement.
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