Customers dispute Aqua Texas investigations into high water bills
Customers dispute high water bills from same company
Two Aqua Texas customers are disputing the company's receipts saying they used thousands of dollars worth of water. FOX 26's Randy Wallace hears from one customer, and a FOX 26 viewer steps in to help the other.
After a previous FOX 26 report, two more viewers reached out about the multi-thousand-dollar water bills that they also received from Aqua Texas.
The company tells FOX 26 both bills are accurate.
Aqua Texas customers dispute high water bills
What they're saying:
Aqua Texas says a woman with a disability — who asked to remain anonymous — and her son used 97,200 gallons of water in July for their three-bedroom, two-bathroom mobile home. That is equivalent to:
- Five average-sized backyard swimming pools,
- Over 2,400 standard bathtubs
- 736,000 single-use water bottles
In a statement, the company says the gallons of water was due to a leak.
The other side:
The woman denies the company's claim, saying she doesn't believe that much water could have leaked onto her property without her knowing it.
She says she'll be contacting a plumber to dispute the bill.
In the meantime, FOX 26 viewer Randy Hartley stepped in to foot the bill. He gave the woman $2,500 and told her to use it any way she saw fit.
"Ma'am, I prayed to God about this. He wants me to help," Hartley said.
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Houston-area Aqua Texas customer receives $5k water bill for June
A Texas couple is challenging a water bill showing they used 209,000 gallons in June, arguing the amount is impossible and alleging a leak in Aqua Texas infrastructure behind their home may be responsible.
Dig deeper:
Aqua Texas also claimed that Melinda Speryl and her husband used 209,000 of water in the month of June, costing around $5,200 in two days.
That amount of water could fill a standard municipal water tank for a small town, or 22 large school buses.
The company also claims that this high bill also stemmed from a leak.
"They broke the main water line behind my house and, apparently, there's water running or something. They're saying now [that] we are using 15,000 gallons of water per day," Speryl said. "We have sold the house, and the new owners got a huge bill also."
Speryl then sent FOX 26's Randy Wallace a video of the house's water meter not working.
Aqua Texas statement
What they're saying:
An Aqua Texas representative sent the following statement in response:
"Aqua Texas has completed investigations at both properties and found no issues with either water meter. As an additional quality assurance measure, both meters have been removed for additional testing to ensure accuracy. Our review indicates the recorded water passed through the meters as measured, and the usage patterns are consistent with leaks on the customer’s side of the meter. We will continue working with the customers, and once a qualifying leak has been repaired, they may apply for a leak adjustment on their bill. Aqua Texas encourages any customers with questions about their water usage to contact us directly."
The Source: Anonymous Aqua Texas customer, FOX 26 viewer Randy Hartley, customer Melinda Speryl, and Aqua Texas.