The Board of Directors of Harris County MUD 208 (the District) voted an across-the-board water rate increase to our customers. The base rate (minimum charge) has increased by $1.50 and the usage tiers have increased by $0.50 per 1,000 gallons. To view the new rates, go to Water and Sewer Rates. This is the first overall water rate increase in the District’s water fees since 1996, that is 28 years ago. In 2010, to aide in the District’s water conservation effort, a 4th tier was added to the rate structure for >30,000 gallons a month users. The sewer rate has increased by $1.00 to $16.00 flat rate. With these increases, the average water user in our District will see approximately a $3.00 increase monthly. For top water users (> 30,000 gallons) the increase would be about $17.00. These new rates equate to about a 6% increase (this percentage varies depending on actual usage).
The monthly water bill has 3 components, the Base Water Charge (District’s water rates), the Base Sewer Charge (District’s sewer rate) and the WHCRWA Charge (West Harris County Regional Water Authority rate). The District’s sewer rate is not only based on the sewer system infrastructure maintenance costs but also a user connection fee imposed by CJOB (Copperfield Joint Operations Board) who manage the sewage treatment plant. The WHCRWA charge is a pass-thru cost to our customers and is currently at $4.35 per every 1,000 gallons used. The District has no control over the WHCRWA rate.
The District’s Board felt this water rate increase was necessary as a result of rising costs as well as an aging infrastructure that is requiring more repairs as well as major component replacement and upgrades, see Aging Infrastructure & Drought-Like Weather – A Bad Combination article below.