HOUSTON – Houston city council unanimously approved an additional $5.5 million Wednesday for the city’s water meter system — a project that has been years in the making and one that hits close to home for hundreds of thousands of Houston water customers.
The funds will come from the Water and Sewer System Consolidated Construction Fund and go toward the city’s existing contract with Sensus USA, Inc. for the installation of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system. The additional appropriation brings the total contract value to $43.5 million dollars.
A long road of billing problems
For years, Houston water customers have dealt with a string of billing problems — and Houston Public Works (HPW) Director Randy Macchi told KPRC 2 reporter Sandy Torres a big part of that comes down to the equipment in the ground.
“A big point of sensitivity for us has been water bills and our water bills have had problems related to the equipment in the ground,” Macchi said. “We have an item on the agenda for this week for City Council to consider, another five and a half million dollars for Sensus remote reading devices primarily. These are the devices attached to meters that allow the meter to transmit how much water has been used so that we can make sure customers are billed accurately and fairly.”
Council Member Twila Carter, At-Large Position 3, said the investment is long overdue, pointing to a broader water billing crisis facing Houston residents.
“We have all heard about the $30M in unpaid water bills and of course the hundreds of Houstonians reporting outrageous water bills due to faulty meters,” Carter said. “Seems like the chicken and egg question…so I am in favor of the additional $5.5M needed to solve what has been a long-term issue. We need to address the situation and save the taxpayers their hard-earned dollars.”
We have previously reported, approximately 15,000 customers collectively owe the city around $30 million in unpaid water bills — a figure Carter said underscores the urgency of fixing the city’s metering infrastructure.
Where things stand now
There are 500,000 meters in the ground across Houston, and Macchi said they continue to fail at an accelerated rate. Water meters have a lifespan of about 20 years, and the city is playing catch-up on a massive scale.
Since 2024, the city has replaced 30,000 water meters — but still needs to replace at least 300,000 more. On the sensor side, about 230,000 have already been replaced or installed, with work currently underway on 10,000 more.
The stakes are significant. Public Works reports that 32 billion gallons of water go unaccounted for every year — a staggering figure that Macchi said new equipment is designed to help address.
Customers who receive a new meter or sensor will be notified, and the city will monitor the new equipment for a period of time after installation.
“It’s a fair way to make sure that customers aren’t continually surprised by high bills,” Macchi said. “Now, it still happens. We still deal with high bills today. And a lot of times, it’s because we haven’t been getting good data in there.”
Contract history and what’s next
The original contract with Sensus USA, Inc. was awarded Nov. 24, 2020, for a 10-year term with a maximum contract amount of $38 million dollars.
This is not the first amendment to the contract. In October 2024, city council approved an additional $16 million — though that amendment did not increase the maximum contract amount.
HPW said the additional $5.5 million is needed due to increased material costs, higher equipment pricing and rising operating expenses — cost escalations that were not anticipated in the original contract scope. The funding is expected to sustain operations through the end of 2027, with the overarching contract running through 2030.
And this may not be the last ask. Macchi has indicated additional funding could be requested in 2027.
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