RICHMOND, Texas – Imagine moving into a new home and getting your first water bill — for $582.
That’s what happened to Amy Doak, who has been living in Lakes of Mission Grove for about a month.
“I had no idea that a water bill could be that high,” Doak said.
Her first Aqua Texas bill totaled $582.20. The bill includes a $100 service initiation fee, $170 for sewer, a $66 regional pass-through fee and about $240 for water usage.
According to the bill, Doak’s family used 20,000 gallons of water in 32 days.
“That does not make any sense at all. We’ve never used that much water,” she said.
A first bill raises bigger questions
Doak says she went back and looked at water usage from her previous home, located about a mile away.
Her family of five, she says, had never used more than about 8,000 gallons in a month.
“Coming from another neighborhood down a mile down the road, we averaged $120 a month,” Doak said. “So it’s a huge difference coming here.”
Doak says the circumstances at her new home also don’t explain the reported usage. The sprinklers weren’t working until recently, she says, and the family had not filled its pool.
Then she started looking through the neighborhood’s online community page.
What she found made her realize her bill might not be an isolated problem.
Residents have posted complaints about high Aqua Texas bills dating back to 2017, according to Doak. She says homeowners have reported monthly bills ranging from $500 to $1,200, with some bills reaching even higher.
One homeowner provided a bill totaling roughly $2,400.
Residents say bills keep climbing
Doak says residents have repeatedly questioned why their bills fluctuate so dramatically.
“It’s fluctuating up, not down, and there’s no rhyme or reason to it,” she said.
Some homeowners say they have stopped using irrigation systems because of the cost. Others say they have had plumbers check their homes for leaks.
Doak says those steps haven’t provided an explanation for what residents describe as widespread high bills.
“It doesn’t make any sense that that increase would be that high. It’s too much,” she said.
Residents are also concerned about the information available through Aqua Texas’ online customer portal.
Doak says the amount due was visible before she could access the detailed bill, and she noticed what appeared to be discrepancies between information shown in her billing history and the total amount due.
Aqua Texas points to rates, usage and leaks
Aqua Texas says its rates had not increased in about 20 years before the company filed a rate application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
The PUC granted Aqua Texas interim rates this year while the broader rate case continues.
The new structure includes tiered usage charges, meaning the cost per 1,000 gallons increases as customers use more water.
Aqua Texas also says unusually high bills can result from increased usage, irrigation or leaks.
Company spokesperson Jennifer Tuminelli told KPRC that customers who notice unusual usage should contact Aqua so the company can investigate.
She said Aqua can review usage, check whether a meter is functioning properly and consider a leak adjustment when a qualifying leak is verified.
There is not necessarily a cap on a customer’s bill, according to Aqua Texas. If water is used, the customer is charged for that usage.
But Doak says residents have questions about whether the reported usage is accurate in the first place.
“I think these meters are original and maybe they’re not working properly,” she said.
Doak is asking Aqua Texas to check the meters throughout the neighborhood.
“I don’t believe that all of us have leaks,” she said.
Rate case could affect hundreds of communities
The concerns in Lakes of Mission Grove come as Aqua Texas seeks broader changes to its rates.
Aqua Texas says the rate application is intended to recover capital investments, and the company has received interim rate approval while the PUC considers the larger request.
The proposed rate structure includes significantly higher charges at higher levels of water usage.
Residents say they’re worried those rates could make already-high bills even more expensive.
The issue also raises a larger question for homeowners: what options do they have when Aqua Texas is the designated water provider for their community?
Unlike electricity customers, homeowners generally cannot simply choose another water provider.
KPRC has received several complaints from Aqua Texas customers across the Houston area, not just in Lakes of Mission Grove.
For Doak, the issue has become personal just one month into homeownership.
“I feel like we are being robbed,” she said.
Now, she says, she’s worried about what the next water bill will bring — and whether the issue can be resolved before high water costs become a permanent part of the family’s monthly budget.
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