(Photo By Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Star Tribune via Getty Images
For some Houston residents, water bills that once hovered around $100 are suddenly climbing into the thousands, despite no major changes in usage.
“Our water bill suddenly went from $150 a month to being charged almost $1,700 in one month. This is insanity,” said Maryah Varnado, a Spring Branch resident who was recently hit with a major water bill spike.
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Varnado said her household’s usage appeared to jump from about 3,000 gallons a month to more than 53,000 gallons—a staggering 1,667 percent increase—without any noticeable change in how her family uses water.
Screenshot of Maryah Varnado’s water bill uploaded on Nextdoor.
Macy Meinhardt
She shared her experience on the Nextdoor app, where dozens of other Houston-area residents have posted similar complaints.
Despite filing a dispute with the city—a process that allows owners to apply to receive credit for leaks and inaccurate billing— she worries the city will still shut her water off for failure to pay.
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Houston’s water system, run by Houston’s Public Works Department, serves over 380,000 single-family household accounts. Despite recent efforts by the city to revamp its water billing system, concerns of billing inaccuracies persist.
Aging system, flawed readings
Part of the problem may stem from the city’s aging infrastructure.
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Since 2019, Houston officials say remote water meter-reading devices have been failing at increasing rates. The number of accounts requiring manual readings has jumped from about 40,000 to 125,000—forcing the city to rely more heavily on estimated bills.
When those estimates are off, customers can be left with massive, unexpected charges—often with limited ability to get relief under existing rules.
The mayor’s office, which oversees public works, declined to comment as of publication time.
Bills climbing into the thousands
Joseph Vargas, a Houston Heights resident, says that his water bill has racked up to over $10,000 in the last few months.
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“Check out my bill for a single guy with four puppies that has not watered his lawn in 2 years,” said Vargas in a post on Nextdoor, along with a screenshot of his bill.
In East Downtown, Hayley Sartin said that her billing problems worsened after reporting them to the city.
“Before, my bill was $300-400 a month for 9,000-12,000 gallons, and I complained about that. It turns out my meter was incorrectly tied to my neighbor’s house with an apparent leak. The City supposedly fixed it by uncrossing it, and they installed a brand new meter but now my bill is like 5 times as much at $2,000 for 57,000 gallons!” said Sartin.
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Joseph Vargas’ bill uploaded onto Nexdoor.
Joseph Vargas/Jospeh Vargas
Like many others in the thread, Sartin maintains that her household only uses a fraction of what the meter reads.
Under normal weather conditions, the average single-family home in Houston uses between 133 and 167 gallons of water per day, the city reports.
“My husband and I use about 100 gallons a day, and 150-200 gallons if it’s a cleaning day. Hoping they refund me what I paid in overages for the last one year,” said Sartin.
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This comes despite a major overhaul to fix inaccurate billing after a KPRC investigation exposed widespread billing discrepancies, faulty meters and even alleged corruption within the Houston Public Works Department.
City proposes sweeping fixes
As Mayor John Whitmire took office in 2024, he unveiled a major Houston water bill improvement plan, including a pledge to replace faulty or old water meters across the city.
As of December 2024, the city touted that it had successfully replaced over 100,000 faulty water readers that reportedly caused inaccurate readings. A substantial chunk, about 15,000 meters, could not be replaced due to obstacles such as landscaping, debris piles and locked gates.
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Relief may not come for everyone
Still, the proposed fixes may not help residents already dealing with past billing issues. And despite the overhaul, some say the problems haven’t gone away.
“This happens over and over. The Houston water department needs to figure out why,” said Joe Weller, a Spring Meadows resident.
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Residents whose billing does appear to reflect accurate water usage are encouraged to call 311 and request a meter reading. A local plumber can also be called to check to see if there is an undisclosed leak ramping up the usage for a potential credit back from the city.