Author: HCUD6

Harris County UD 6 will be increasing the billing rates for Water & Sewer rates. This will go into effect on the April 2024 water bill.

What is the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (WHCRWA) fee on my bill?

The State of Texas created the Harris Galveston Subsidence District (the “HGSD”) to provide for the regulation of groundwater withdrawal throughout Harris and Galveston counties for the purpose of preventing land subsidence, which leads to increased flooding. The HGSD requires water well owners to reduce the amount of water they pump out of the ground by certain percentages over time, because groundwater use is the primary cause of land subsidence.

The WHCRWA was created by the State of Texas as a regional approach to comply with the HGSD’s requirements for reducing groundwater use and provide for a long-term, adequate amount of alternative water supply, such as surface water from lakes and reservoirs. The HGSD requires the WHCRWA to convert 30% of the water usage within its boundaries to an alternative water supply by 2010, 60% by 2025, and 80% by 2035. If the WHCRWA fails to meet the requirements, water users within its boundaries will be charged a disincentive fee by the HGSD. That disincentive fee is currently $6.50 per 1,000 gallons and is periodically adjusted upwards as well.

The WHCRWA entered into a contract with the City of Houston (the “City”) to obtain a long-term source of treated surface water and is required to pay the City for its share of the transmission, operating, and maintenance costs related to the facilities that provide the water. The WHCRWA charges fees to water well owners within its boundaries to provide the funding needed to pay the contract costs and the costs for designing and constructing a network of transmission lines and storage, pumping, and other facilities required to deliver surface water purchased from the City to water well owners within the WHCRWA. The WHCRWA does not have the ability to tax residents, and all costs are paid from the fees charged to water well owners.

Harris County Utility District No. 6 (“HC UD 6”) is a water well owner located within the WHCRWA. HC UD 6 receives surface water supply from the WHCRWA through water lines and facilities that were built by the WHCRWA to deliver water purchased from the City to HC UD 6. In turn, HC UD 6 supplies its customers with the surface water received from the WHCRWA. The WHCRWA charges HC UD 6 a fee based on the number of gallons of water used. HC UD 6 charges its customers the WHCRWA fee based on the number of gallons of water used without any mark-up, and the fee is identified on HC UD 6’s bills as “WHCRWA.” The current WHCRWA fee is $2.85 per 1,000 gallons. For more information regarding the WHCRWA, please visit www.WHCRWA.com.

Following is information regarding the charges and fees included on HC UD 6’s utility bills per HC UD 6’s Amended Rate Order. A copy of the Amended Rate Order is included on HC UD 6’s website: http://www.harriscountyud6.org.

HC UD 6’s current water rates for Single-Family Residential Users:

Amount of Payment	Water Usage
$12.00 (minimum monthly charge)	First 5,000 gallons
$1.50 per 1,000 gallons	5,001 to 10,000 gallons
$2.00 per 1,000 gallons	All over 10,000 gallons
$10.00 Conservation Charge	All over 15,000 gallons

Following is an example of how to calculate a utility bill based on current HC UD 6 water rates for a customer who used 30,000 gallons of water:

Water:  0 – 5,000 gallons	$  12.00
5,000 gallons X 1.50/1,000 gallons	$  7.50
20,000 gallons X $2.00/1,000 gallons	$  40.00
Conservation Charge for more than 15,000 gallons	$  10.00
Water Total	$  69.50
WHCRWA Fee:   30,000 gallons X $4.79/1,000 gallons	$ 143.70
Sewer Charge (Flat Fee)	$  15.00
Voluntary Fee for security services	$    2.00
Grand Total	$230.20

How do I calculate my utility bill?

Following is an example of how to calculate a utility bill based on current HCUD No. 6 water rates for a customer who used 30,000 gallons of water:

Water: 0 – 5,000 gallons	$ 12.00
5,000 gallons X 1.50/1,000 gallons	$  7.50
20,000 gallons X $2.00/1,000 gallons	$ 40.00
Conservation Charge for more than 15,000 gallons	$ 10.00
Water Total	$ 69.50
WHCRWA Fee: 30,000 gallons X $4.79/1,000 gallons (+10% to cover the costs of treatment and water loss)	$ 143.70
Sewer Charge (Flat Fee)	$ 15.00
Voluntary Fee for security services	$ 2.00
Grand Total	$230.20