HOUSTON — A Houston man got $1,300 removed from his water bill after KHOU 11’s Grace White started asking questions.
The small meter box on Chris Smith’s property has caused him big problems.
"I don't water the grass. She don't wash her truck at home. The only time we use water is for bathing," said Smith, who KHOU 11 first interviewed last November. He lives in a single-story home on Enyart Drive in south Houston.
He called KHOU 11 for help last year after getting an $800 water bill. The city said he had a leak, but he disputed that.
“They said they would correct the bill," Smith said.
He got a letter from Houston Public Works in December 2023 saying his case was closed. This year, Smith got a shut-off notice from the city because the previous balance was never taken care of.
“They say one thing, you call the city. You can’t talk to anyone, you call this number, you call that number, and you still can’t get no results," he said.
On May 8 we reached out to the city and two days later, Customer Account Services said they contacted Smith to remove $1,327.21 from his account. Smith says he hasn’t seen it yet but looks forward to getting the corrected bill in the mail.
“I’ll be grateful if they really credit me $1,300, I’ll be very grateful, and they get my water bill correct," Smith said. "This is the only bill I have a problem with."
Why did it take so long for Houston Public Works to help Smith? A spokeswoman told KHOU 11 that when they closed his case in December, he was supposed to turn in a form for an adjustment. However, there was confusion over the paperwork. Once KHOU 11 called in May, Customer Account Services submitted the form on Smith's behalf.
RELATED: More than 300,000 Houston residents will see a big difference in how their water bill is calculated
There’s been a lot of attention on Houston’s high water bill problem. Mayor Whitmire got involved and announced changes. Right now, all residential customers are on a “set usage” while the department tests the system. This is the solution the department came up with to improve public trust, but we will have to wait until later this year to see if it works.
You can check the status of your meter's remote reading device, by clicking here.
If you have a problem and need help, email GraceCanHelp@khou.com, call (713) 521-HELP or fill out the form below.