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WINTERIZE FOR APPROACHING HARD FREEZE
With the hard freeze predicted for next week, remember to protect your outdoor piping. Disconnect and drain all hoses from the faucets then wrap/cover the faucets. Remember to protect the water service line to your home if it exposed to the weather. If you have a pool, make sure it is running once the temperature drops below freezing.
Don’t forget about your sprinkler system! Sprinkler systems need to be winterized as well, since the PVC pipes are susceptible to a hard freeze. This will include at a minimum, your back flow preventer and depending upon the systems, some valves and pipes. Your back flow preventer is a brass device that sticks up out of the ground about a foot or two. Proper insulation of the back flow preventer and it’s piping protect it against leaks. If your system has a drain valve, you might also consider draining the system before a hard freeze is expected in the area. Water standing in the pipes can freeze, which could lead to unwanted leaks. The following short video describes a method for winterizing your irrigation system:
Eye on Water Sign-up Incentive
For a limited time, new first-time users will receive a one-time $10 credit on their water bill when they sign up for the Eye on Water app. Now, in addition to a bill credit, app users have the ability to detect and be notified of potential water leaks within 24 hours rather than waiting until the end of the month when their water bill is high indicating an excessive amount of water usage. The app also allows user to view their daily usage, helping them understand the amount of water used by their irrigation system. Click on the following link to learn more about the app and how to sign up: Your Water Meter Can Detect Leaks – EyeOnWater App
2024 Tax Rate Set
The Board of Directors of Harris County MUD 208 (the district) voted to keep the 2024 MUD Property Tax Rate at $0.36 per $100 valuation. The total tax rate consists of $0.099 per $100 valuation to pay the District’s debt service and $0.261 per $100 valuation to fund maintenance and operation expenditures for the next year. Please keep in mind this rate is for the district only. Other entities, including the county, school district, hospital district, etc., set their own rates.
The Board of Directors also authorized Bob Leared Interests, the tax assessor-collector for the district, to mail duplicate tax statements in January 2025. These statements will be mailed to homeowners whose original tax statement was requested by and mailed to a mortgage company AND remains unpaid at the time of the January mailing. If you receive a DUPLICATE TAX STATEMENT, this is your reminder to contact your mortgage company to ensure their timely payment of your MUD taxes by January 31, 2025. If you receive a statement, but escrow your taxes, it is your responsibility to forward the tax statement on to your mortgage company.
**This year the Harris County MUD #208 tax statements contain a QR code. When scanned with a smartphone this QR code will take you directly to the account on the tax assessor website and payment can be made at that time.**
You can view, pay, and print receipts for your MUD tax account online at www.bli-tax.com or through the Bob Leared Interests link on our website, www.harriscountymud208.com There is an additional processing fee when making online payments. In addition to paying through the website, you can pay the district taxes by phone, by calling OPAY Customer Service at (800)487-4567 between the hours of 7:00 am and 7:00 pm CST. You must tell the representative you need to pay your TEXAS taxes. You will need your account number which begins with “229”. There is an additional processing fee when making payments by phone.
If you have not received your 2024 Harris County MUD 208 tax statement by the end of November, and you are unable to locate your account online at www.bli-tax.com, please contact the tax assessor-collector at 713-932-9011 to discuss your tax account.
BOB LEARED IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH DOXO.COM
WHCRWA Rate Unchanged in 2025
The WHCRWA announced that their rate for water usage will NOT be increased in 2025. The WHCRWA rate is a pass-thru cost, with no mark-up, to MUD 208 residents and is $4.35 per every 1,000 gallons used.
What is the WHCRWA Fee on My Water Bill?
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). With higher water usage, especially during the summer months, the WHCRWA fee can be more than half of the total water bill. So, what is the WHCRWA fee? The video accessed via the following link, https://www.whcrwa.com/what-is-the-whcrwa-fee/, helps explain the purpose of this fee. It should be noted that the WHCRWA fee is strictly a pass-thru cost to our customers, with no mark-up, and is currently at $4.35 per every 1,000 gallons used. The District has no control over the WHCRWA rate.
Your Water Meter Can Detect Leaks – EyeOnWater App
All MUD 208 residents now have smart meters that allow users to access their water usage online and set up leak alerts. Unfortunately, many residents are not taking advantage of this FREE tool, the EyeOnWater app. Once registered for an online account, customers will be able to see how water usage spikes on the days their sprinkler system is active. Another advantage is that customers can receive leak alerts. With this feature, if water is flowing continuously for 24 hours at a customer specified rate, say 1 gallon per hour, the customer is notified by a text and/or email that their household has a leak. For example, the first graph below shows usage did not reach the set threshold line every hour so no alert is sent. In the second graph, usage exceeded the set threshold line every hour for 24 hours so an alert is sent.
Once a 24-hour period goes by with water flow less than the specified value, an alert is sent that the leak has stopped.
The EyeOnWater app lets you be in control. How’s that you ask? It allows you to engage with how you use water and see your latest water usage, understand how much water you use, detect leaks and discover when you use the most water. It also lets you:
- Quickly View your recent water usage with a two-week comparison.
- View detailed water usage history by day, week, month, and year.
- Discover your short and long term water usage trends
- Monitor your water usage, even when you are away from your home!
Plus, you can easily contact us! This is all simply at your fingertips and part of our service with the smart meters!
There are several ways to sign up for EyeOnWater. You can click on this link Smart Meter Account Sign Up which will send you to the smart water meter webpage on this website. Another way to sign up is with your smart phone. Scan this QR code below to be directed to the EyeOnWater website or find EyeOnWater in the app store.
No matter how you sign up, you will need the following information to register your account:
- Your zip code
- 10-digit account number shown on your water bill – Example: 53208-XXXXX
- E-mail address (your e-mail address will not be sold or distributed)
Start taking control of your water usage – sign-up now!