North Texans Reporting Spike in Water Bills

Several North Texans are sending NBC 5 Responds their water bills, questioning why some bills have spiked.

'I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO'

When Brad Carter’s water, sewer, and trash bill rose from around $77 in September, $462 in October and $970 in November, primarily in water use charges, the Mesquite resident said he was baffled.

“I live by myself,” said Carter. “I don’t have a swimming pool, I don't have any aquariums. It's always been on average, $60, $70 a month, when all of a sudden…boom. It's outrageous.”

Carter said a plumber couldn’t find a leak, so he took his concerns to the City of Mesquite water billing department.

“That's when he said, ‘No, they checked your meter and it is usage,” Carter told NBC 5 Responds.

Facing hundreds of dollars in water charges for the three-bedroom, two-bath home, Carter contacted NBC 5 Responds.

“I don't know what to do,” Carter said.

Rhonda Steward reached out, too, sharing bills that rose from around $80 in July to exactly $144.89 two months in a row.

“Something is not going right with the meters or something. I don't know what's going on,” Steward said.

CITY: RATE INCREASE, NEW METERS, LEAKS FACTORS

We took their questions to Cliff Keheley, Mesquite’s city manager. Keheley said there are several reasons water customers in Mesquite are seeing high bills, including a 9% rate increase that took effect Oct. 1.

“Our supplier had significant cost increases due to supply issues, the chemical cost and the labor cost,” said Keheley. “They increased the cost of water by 14%, which required us to do a 9% water rate increase.”

The city is also in the process of replacing 42,000 water meters in Mesquite. Removing meters that required a human to log usage every month and installing digital water meters.

“Provides a lot more information that's recorded on the meter, as well as it's read by a radio tower once every hour,” Keheley said of the new meters.

The digital meters are designed to send usage readings to the city automatically via radio waves, taking human meter readers out of the equation.

Keheley said the city found some of the old meters were undercounting usage and still others, to be replaced, are dead.

“The meters have a propeller in them that just stopped working and so residents were not being charged for the water that they were using,” Keheley said. “What we're finding is that was a larger number than we thought.”

Keheley said the city counted approximately 600 meters that are not reading usage.

Keheley said those customers may not have noticed because they were billed a minimum usage fee per month.

ADDRESSING LEAKS

Keheley said, in some cases, new meters are counting higher usage because of leaks. The city said those customers may have a bill adjusted by sharing an invoice from a plumber, showing the leak is repaired.

“We don't want to penalize a resident who has an unfortunate experience with a water leak or a malfunction in their house system,” said Keheley.

Steward, who received a new meter earlier last year, said a plumber fixed a minor leak at her home.

We’ve shared the plumber’s invoice she sent us with the city.

When it comes to Carter’s bill, Keheley said the city took another look after NBC 5 Responds brought it to their attention. He said the city is stumped. It’s not clear why Carter’s bill shot up, so it’s adjusting the latest bill down to around $65 to reflect more typical usage for Carter.

The city said the installation of the new water meters began in October 2021 and a little over half of the city’s meters have been replaced. The rest are scheduled to be done by 2024. Crews will place door hangers on doors, notifying customers when the new water meter is installed.

The city said a contractor should never have to come into your home to switch out the meter.

The city said the meters will allow residents to track their own usage online.

If you have questions about your water bill or need to submit a plumber’s invoice. The City of Mesquite said you can reach out through the email address on this page.

The city also said it would accept hardware store receipts if you made a repair yourself.

The city said residents can also use the MyMesquite app for reporting concerns.

We asked the city if residents can have their water meters tested. The City of Mesquite said it will test water meters for accuracy at no cost if there is an unusual change in consumption. Mesquite residents can contact the Water Billing Office at 972-216-6208 for more information.

NBC 5 Responds is committed to researching your concerns and recovering your money. Our goal is to get you answers and, if possible, solutions and a resolution. Call us at 844-5RESPND (844-573-7763) or fill out our customer complaint form.