Show All Answers

1. Can a payment plan be worked out if I had a leak?

Yes, by calling and working with the utility billing staff, arrangements can be worked out to get the bill paid off in a timely manner.

2. Can I pay my utility bill by credit card?

You can pay online. Click on Quick Pay at the bottom left of the screen. You will need to enter your account number and last payment amount. Then Click on “Find Bill.”  

3. How can I tell if I have a leak?

Make sure no water is being used in the house including dishwashers, showers, or washing machine. Go out to the meter and check the digital register. If the register is not active, shine a bright light on it. If there is a continuous flow of water, the last digit will be moving. This means that water is flowing through the meter to the house.

4. How can I tell if my toilet has a silent leak?

Remove the cover to the tank part of the toilet. Drop 3 to 4 drops of food coloring (blue, red, or green) in the tank. Wait 5 to 10 minutes. If the food coloring appears in the bowl of the toilet, then you have a leak.

5. How can the meter reader read my meter if there is so much dirt on it?

The City has upgraded the City's meter reading system to Automated Meter Reading. So, the readings for every water meter in the City is transmitted to City Hall in real time and stored in a database. Also, Mother Nature has her way of covering up meters by the wind blowing, ground shifting, rain, and even mowing your yard. The meter reader does not necessarily have to wipe off all the dirt in order to read the meter. Remember, they are trained and do this on a daily basis.

6. I am moving, how do I disconnect my water services?

It is the responsibility of the customer to contact the Utility Billing Department to stop billing on the account. If a customer does not notify our department to terminate service the account will continue to bill and the customer will be responsible for all charges accumulated as a result of any failure to contact the billing department.

To request a disconnection of service, you may come to our office or email us. When emailing you must include:

• Desired termination date
• Forwarding address
• Name on the account
• Service address
• Picture Identification Examples: Drivers License, Military Identification Card, U.S. Passport

7. May I change my billing due date?

No, bills are run by cycles based on the address. All addresses in the same cycle are due on the same day. You may request a senior citizen extension if you are over the age of 60 with the completion of the extension form and a copy of your driver's license.

8. What can I do if my water service is turned off for nonpayment?

Accounts not paid in full (10 days past the due date) will be scheduled for disconnection and a fee of $50 will be added to the account.

If the past due amount plus the disconnection fee is paid between 7:30 am and 3 pm on a weekday, the service will be reconnected on that day. All other accounts that are paid in full will be reconnected on the next business day. Water will only be reconnected after 3 pm if the resident pays the $50 reconnection fee plus the $25 after-hours reconnection fee and the payment is verified by the Utility Billing Department.

No reconnects will be made by on-call personnel after 6 pm If a resident turns their water back on, an additional tampering fee of $500 plus repair cost for any damage caused to the service will be assessed.

If a resident pays online after their water has been cut off, they will need to call City Hall at 254-799-2436 by 3 pm, so the water can be scheduled to be turned back on the same day.

9. Why do the billing periods have more days in some months and less in others?

Some months have 28, 30, or 31 days, but you will only be billed twelve times per year.

10. Why is my water bill so high?

An unusually high water bill is most often caused by a leak or change in water use. Some common causes of high water bills include:

• A leaking toilet, or a toilet that continues to run after being flushed (see additional information below)
• A dripping faucet; faucet drip can waste 20 gallons of water a day or more
• Filling or topping off a swimming pool or hot tub
• Watering the lawn, new grass, or trees; also check for open hose spigots
• Humidifiers attached to the furnace that is improperly adjusted or not working correctly
• Kids home for summer vacations or school holidays; guests
• Water‐cooled air conditioners
• A broken water pipe or obvious leak; check the pipes in the basement or crawlspace; the water heater could also be leaking
• Water softener problems - cycles continuously
• Running the water to avoid freezing water pipes during cold weather

Learning how to save water at home is very important because a typical family of four uses 40‐50 gallons of water per person per day or 160-200 gallons for one day. The largest water users are the toilets, clothes washers, and showers, accounting for about two‐thirds of the water used in an average household. Toilets use up to 27% of the household water supply while clothes washers use 20.9% and showers account for 17.3%. Faucets account for about 15.3% and leaks account for 13.8% of a family's water use. Dishwashers, baths, and other things account for the remaining water use. Typically, water consumption is higher during the summer due to the watering of lawns, pools, and gardening.