Residents press board over high water bills; utility says new, more accurate meters and software fixes explain increases
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Summary
Directors raised constituent complaints about unexpectedly high water bills. Texarkana Water Utilities staff said the switch to newer meters (98.5%+ accuracy) and corrected billing software interactions account for higher usage readings; staff offered inspections, payment plans and customer-portal tools to help residents track consumption.
Several directors raised constituent complaints about higher-than-expected water bills during board commentary. City staff from Texarkana Water Utilities explained that the principal drivers were more accurate meters and a billing-software correction rather than a large rate increase.
Utility staff told the board that the typical residential usage assumption in prior studies was about 5,000 gallons per month, and older meters were under-reporting usage. New meters tested at about 98.5% accuracy compared with older 3-inch meters that averaged ~83% accuracy in prior tests, staff said. Staff noted the utility’s published rate increase was relatively small (roughly 4–4.5%), but bills rose for many customers because the newer meters measured more of actual usage. The utility also reported resolving software and meter-reading issues that had produced some billing anomalies and said it has offered payment plans, on-site inspections and a customer portal (when launched) that will let customers monitor near-real-time reads and set consumption alarms.
Directors asked staff to encourage customers to call for inspections; staff said technicians will verify meters and investigate leaks or other causes and that staff remain available to set up payment plans where needed. The board recorded that many customer issues had been corrected after staff follow-up.
