Water and wastewater bills have doubled or tripled for Woodlands-area Aqua Texas customers since the utility began charging interim rates in March.

KPRC 2 reported Thursday, Sept. 10, that homeowners from communities across the Houston region, including The Woodlands area, contacted the station with bills they described as dramatically higher than previous years. Among the complaints: Darrell Thorne, a homeowner in Lakes of Mission Grove in Richmond, said he received an $837 bill where he paid $291 for similar usage a year earlier. A couple in The Commons of Lake Houston reported a $777.97 bill while they were away from home for 20 days. Multiple residents reported monthly totals above $1,000.

The spike traces to a rate case before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). Aqua Texas filed the case on June 20, 2025, seeking to recover nearly $700 million in infrastructure investments made between 2004 and 2024. According to the company's rate case page, it is the utility's first statewide water and wastewater base rate change request in 20 years.

The PUCT allowed Aqua Texas to begin charging interim rates on March 9.

Those rates remain in effect while the commission reviews the case.

Two specific changes are hitting customers hardest, according to Aqua Texas in an earlier KPRC 2 report. Water usage is now more aggressively tiered, meaning the per-gallon price rises as households move into higher consumption levels. Wastewater charges also shifted from a flat rate to a volumetric rate tied to how much water a customer uses.

Sarah Jerkins, a homeowner in Lakes of Mission Grove in Richmond who has been an Aqua Texas customer since 2017, told KPRC 2 her bills became unmanageable starting in April. After disputing a bill, Aqua Texas sent a technician who found her meter was working properly. Jerkins said there was no leak. She shut off her irrigation and stopped watering her yard. Her bills dropped to roughly $200 to $300 a month, but her grass, bushes, trees and plants died.

"I'd rather have that than a monthly $1K plus water bill," she told the station.

A KPRC 2 review of PUCT records found more than 330 protest filings submitted in the Aqua Texas rate case. The commission said that if it finds evidence of improper billing, its Division of Compliance and Enforcement may open an investigation. The PUCT did not say whether any such investigation exists.

For Woodlands-area customers watching their bills climb, one detail matters most: Aqua Texas would owe customers refunds or credits if the PUCT sets final rates below the interim amounts, according to the company's rate case page. No timeline for that final order has been announced.

Customers who believe a bill is incorrect can contact Aqua Texas at (877) 987-2782. If the issue is not resolved, the PUCT recommends filing a formal complaint with the commission.