Dear Friends,
Recently, I received my water bill from Harris County MUD #120 and was shocked at the amount due. There was a “water” charge of $12.00 and a “sewer” charge of $18.00, which was increased from $12.00. But the real shock was a “regional water authority” charge of $28.66, which I have never seen before. I called the EDP water company, who handles the water account in the Clayton subdivision of Mission Bend. The customer service representative stated the additional “regional water authority” charge was due to the switch from well water to ground water. I then asked if there was a difference between the two. She replied that it was all about water conservation and the charge was passed by the Texas legislature.
When I heard that, I could not believe it. I can remember that there had been huge debates over ground water and land subsidence (Brownwood Subdivision-Baytown, TX 1975). In the 1950s, local municipalities had switched from using ground water to surface water due to the subsidence problem. Even industries such as Exxon/Mobil had reduced their ground water use over the years.
Well enough about land subsidence-what about this damn extra charge on my water bill? When did they sneak this crap in? Did they think this was going to go through without being noticed? And also, I want to know what politicians pushed for this? Are they getting “kickbacks” from special interest groups? This really stinks. With this country’s bad economy, do you think its citizens will stand for this? Let me know what you think.
Big D
