Exorbitant Water Bills (Grand Prairie, Rowlett: credit, house, utilities)

[ccmusica]

I have read and heard about water bill hikes in the DFW Metro areas being anywhere from 50% to 500%. Personally, my water bill has doubled from last year at this same time. I am not watering lawns any more than last year (it's on a timer) and I have one less adult living in my house than last year. The Grand Prairie Utilities are telling me the billing hikes are not widespread but that I might have a leak. My bill went from $114 last year to $220 this year.

I have spoken to many of my neighbors and their water bills have taken a huge leap to double or triple over last year as well. There have been many news stories that this is widespread across DFW.

I have decided to deal with this at a local level (Grand Prairie) and am circulation an online petition. If you are a Grand Prairie resident and your water bill has skyrocketed without justification, I encourage you to sign this petition. It will be presented to the Mayor demanding an explanation other than we all must have leaks on our properties. Here is the link:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/147/8...ity-and-mayor/

[jpushiys]

Your water bill should have water consumption as well in gallons etc
No ?
If so is ur usage the same ?

[txfriend]

Same here, I received a bill for $255 and thought that they made a mistake and will correct it the following month. That bill was at $282, so I quite all watering and it's now $146. My neighbors water bill was $501.

[nitynity]

I had same issue once. The consumption was 36000 gallon for a month. I am like wtf. Ended up paying the bill.

[Aceraceae]

Our water bill went like 5000 to 8000ish then had one 26,000. Next month went to 9000 consumption. I called and they said the meter was good. Obviously paid the bill with a big wtf.

[tyanger]

Have you checked all your sprinkler heads for proper function? It's always a good idea to stay on top of those, especially since many areas have eased up on the water restrictions and allowable times for running lawn irrigation. I was surprised the first time I experienced this problem. Two busted sprinkler heads doing their best imitations of Old Faithful for a whole month almost doubled our water bill.

[Threestep2]

Similar sprinkler issue here in July. Critters chewed the main line and we found out by accident. We submitted invoices for parts and a service call and Ft. Worth credited 50% of the excess after two billing cycles were back to our averages.

Teenagers, guests, small leaks such as toilet flaps, ... Check your meter periodically. Is it running when it should not?

[BigDGeek]

Our water bill was HUGE in August, but dropped back to normal in September and October. No difference in consumption either. Big WTF.

[ccmusica]

We started a petition calling for accountability and the city is now paying attention and is working with us to find answers. We shall see what happens from here. This seems to be widespread. Below is a copy of the petition:

"We, the residents of Grand Prairie, Texas hereby demand a full explanation and investigation into the recent widespread excessive increases in both metered usage and the resulting cost to the consumer from The City of Grand Prairie Water Utilities. We demand this investigation to be completed by an independent third party and to include complete verification of records, meter accuracy, meter readings, the billing system, and full accountability for inaccurate records or recordings.

During the last few months residents of Grand Prairie have been seeing water bills from The City of Grand Prairie Water Utilities abnormally high. They range anywhere from 50% to 500% higher than at this time last year with no increase in usage reported by the residents, yet their meter readings have typically doubled.

Some residents were on vacation for long periods of time where there was no water usage and their bills doubled while others had fewer adult members residing in the household with less water usage and their bills also doubled. Yet again, some households have not changed at all in either their members nor demand for water and their bills virtually doubled.

Due to the widespread consistency of higher meter readings and the resulting higher water bills, the accuracy of meters, meter readings, and recordings are suspect. The City of Grand Prairie Water Utility denies this is a widespread phenomenon and provides that one probably has a leak on their property as the only explanation. We feel this is not an appropriate nor substantiated response as the exorbitant water usage being billed is just not corroborated by the Grand Prairie residents and the effect thereof is producing a financial hardship for many as well as an unjustified expense for others.

I demand The City of Grand Prairie fully investigate through an independent third party, the methods, procedures, and the verification and accuracy of the issued water bills to include water meters, meter readings, and billing system, and be fully accountable for any and all inaccurate records or recordings. I also demand that a full explanation be provided to the Grand Prairie residents."

[nsumner]

This isn't an issue that is limited to Grand Prairie. It's all over the Metroplex. The worst bill to date is from this Rowlett resident that received a bill for over $800

Rowlett homeowner questions big water bill - Story | KDFW

Naima