Residents’ water bills include a WHCRWA cost for water pumped by utility districts (well pumpage fee) and surface water given to them by the WHCRWA (surface water fee). The utility districts then charge their individual customers for the water they use, and may change the amount imposed by the WHCRWA as a pass-through expense on the retail water bill to cover things like leaks in their system and fire hydrant usage.
The fees received are used to pay the WHCRWA’s capital, operations/maintenance, and debt service budgets. The great majority of WHCRWA’s annual allocations go toward debt service, surface water purchases, and the system needed to transfer surface water from City of Houston-owned drinking water sources to the MUDs within its limits.
The first phase of the HGSD’s groundwater reduction mandate was completed in 2010, resulting in a 30% reduction in the area’s dependency on groundwater. The next deadline is 2025, when 60 percent of the water must be converted to alternative (or surface) water.
On my water bill, what does Nhcrwa stand for?
North Harris County Regional Water Authority (North Harris County Regional Water Authority) is a water authority in North Harris County “The National Groundwater Conversion and Reuse Water Authority (NHCRWA) was established by the Texas Legislature to assist in the conversion of the region within its boundaries from groundwater to primarily surface water. HCMUD 249 (“the District”), along with other municipal utility districts in the area, is a participant in the NHCRWA’s Groundwater Reduction Plan in order to comply with the statutory mandate to minimize groundwater usage ” (“GRP”).
The NHCRWA is responsible for building the necessary water delivery infrastructure to transport surface water to the areas within the NHCRWA in order to comply with the groundwater reduction mandate. The NHCRWA levies fees to well owners/municipal utility districts within the NHCRWA’s limits depending on the amount of water pumped by their wells or the amount of surface water received by the NHCRWA in order to design, develop, and operate the necessary infrastructure.
Securing a long-term, reliable supply of wholesale drinking water for North Harris County
As a result, the NHCRWA charges the District a price for each 1,000 gallons of groundwater removed by the District (the “GRP Fee”), which the NHCRWA may raise from time to time. The GRP Fees, plus a 3.5 percent premium to support relevant District expenditures, are then passed on to the District’s consumers based on how much water they use. As a result, each user within the District is billed a separate amount for each 1,000 gallons of water delivered to such user in a billing cycle equal to 103.5 percent of the GRP Fee charged to the District by the NHCRWA for each 1,000 gallons of water for that period, in addition to the district’s water rates.
The NHCRWA fee that appears on homeowners’ bills is not a District fee; it is a mandated fee imposed by the NHCRWA and passed on to residents via their water bills. This charge is completely based on how much water people consume at home. The current and historical NHCRWA fees can be found here.
Please use the contact form on the District’s website if you have any additional questions about this or anything else related to HCMUD 249.
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What are the fees charged by the North Fort Bend Water Authority?
The North Fort Bend Water Authority (NFBWA) is raising its compulsory surface water price from $4.35 per 1,000 gallons to $4.65 per 1,000 gallons beginning January 1, 2021. This Subsidence District mandated charge is paid directly to the NFBWA and is used to plan, build, and operate existing and new infrastructure that supplies surface water to your district. It appears as a distinct line item on your water bill.
Fort Bend Municipal Utility District No. 142 (FBMUD 142) also completed another year of participation in the NFBWA Larry’s Toolbox water conservation program and will earn refunds from the NFBWA in 2020. The rebates will be used by the District to cover operating and maintenance costs or to fund new projects in the District.
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Where does Harris County get its water?
Obtaining Water 1. The Chattahoochee River is pumped into Lake Harding, where it is processed at the Harris County Water Filtration Plant on Bartletts Ferry Road. 2. Water is obtained from the City of Columbus, which pumps water from the Chattahoochee River at Lake Oliver during seasons of high demand.
What is the definition of a surface water charge?
When rainwater falls on a property and drains away, this is known as surface water drainage.
The majority of rainwater falling on homes drains into public sewers owned by England and Wales’ ten water and sewerage corporations. These businesses are in charge of collecting and processing rainwater. If your property’s rainwater flows into a public sewer, you’ll be charged for surface water drainage on your sewer bill.
Surface water drainage will be included in your account in one of the following ways:
- a cost included in the recurring charge
- a charge based on the amount of water you use on a volumetric basis
- a charge depending on your property’s rateable value
- through a fee based on the type of residence you have
What is the Nhcrwa’s major mission?
The NHCRWA’s main goal was to secure enough surface water and build a method to make the shift to surface water as quickly as possible in order to meet the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District’s groundwater reduction deadline.
What does the acronym Nfbwa stand for?
The North Fort Bend Water Authority (NFBWA) was established by the 79th Texas Legislature in May 2005, when Senate Bill 1798 was passed and Chapter 8813 of the Special District Local Laws Code was established.
Is the water in Houston fluoridated?
Fluoride has been present in Houston’s water since a city council vote in 2002.
Dr. Joe Richardson, a local dentist, is in favor of retaining fluoride in the city’s water supply.
“It has been shown to improve dental health. It has been around for more than 70 years. Because it has been around for so long, it is the best studied public health measure available. Anti-fluoridation activists will inform you that there are no peer-reviewed scientific journals with papers showing detrimental consequences of fluoridation “According to Richardson.
Those opposed to fluoride, according to Richardson, try to terrify people by using the term hydrofluorosilicic acid.
What is the source of Houston’s water supply?
Houston is a member of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and participates in the AWWA’s Partnership for Safe Water program for treatment plant and distribution system optimization. This program is based on voluntary promises to improve the quality of water delivered to customers by optimizing water system operations above and beyond regulatory requirements.
The practice of monitoring and assessing the quality of our water resources, as well as adopting measures to eliminate pollutants and chemical contaminants that may have a detrimental impact on these resources, is known as source water protection. Protecting water resources from pollution also minimizes the need for further treatment operations, as well as deferring the cost of new infrastructure and subsequent rate hikes.
Houston’s surface water supplies are supplied by local lakes and rivers. 86 percent of our water comes from the Trinity River, which runs into Lake Livingston, and the San Jacinto River, which flows into Lake Conroe and Lake Houston. The remaining 14% of the City’s water supply is currently provided by deep underground wells drilled into the Evangeline and Chicot aquifers.
The Source Water Protection Group collaborates with a variety of government departments to protect and monitor the rivers, lakes, wetlands, and watersheds that feed the City’s drinking water reservoirs. Contaminants are detected in real time at many sites, allowing technicians and operators to identify potential contaminants in our raw water supplies. It helps to keep this protection in place by encouraging local businesses and community groups to report occurrences of illegal discharge or dumping.
A trained team of environmental inspectors is always looking for industrial discharges and other toxins in lakes and tributaries. Multiple water samples are collected and examined for a wide range of microorganisms and contaminants.
Harris County is predicted to have a population of more than 5.5 million people by 2050. It is critical that all citizens utilize water properly in order to preserve our most valuable natural resource. A well-informed and educated community is our first line of defense. Citizens have a critical role to play in minimizing the amount of pollution entering our water supplies. Fluid discharges into our rivers can be avoided with proper use and maintenance of motorized equipment. Runoff of chemicals, fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, as well as human waste from poorly maintained septic systems, can occur as a result of commercial, industrial, and residential development of a lake’s surrounding environment. The implementation of best-management-practices (BMPs) in these areas has a favorable impact on water resource protection.
The City of Houston serves Harris County and parts of three neighboring counties as the regional water provider. Through a combination of about 1.2 billion gallons per day of stable surface water rights and over 200 million gallons per day (MGD) of available groundwater supplies, the City of Houston has sufficient water supplies for its wholesale and retail customers through approximately 2050.
Groundwater supply levels are established in our region by the Harris Galveston Subsidence District’s laws, which are described as sustainable aquifer yield (groundwater rights do not exist in Texas). There are two types of surface water rights: dependable and unreliable. During the worst drought on record, which lasted seven years in the Houston area during the 1950s, reliable rights will be available. During the worst drought on record, unreliable rights will be unavailable. The City of Houston’s guaranteed surface water rights are made up of reservoir and run-of-river yields from Lake Livingston, Lake Houston, and Lake Conroe, as well as river flows in the lower Trinity River. Additional water rights applications have been filed by the City of Houston with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The goal is to secure enough water rights to meet all City wholesale and retail clients’ 50-year water consumption predictions.
The city of Houston owns 70% of Lake Livingston, 70% of Lake Conroe, 100% of Lake Houston, and 70% of the projected Allens Creek Reservoir. The City of Houston outsources the operation and maintenance of our lake supply to other water organizations. The Trinity River Authority operates and manages Lake Livingston, the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) oversees Lake Conroe, and the Coastal Water Authority controls Lake Houston. The Brazos River Authority will administer the upcoming Allens Creek Reservoir project, which will be owned by the City of Houston. It is not expected to be operational until around 2025.
Groundwater is pumped from 1,200-foot-deep wells on average. Groundwater is pumped to one of eight surface water re-pressurization plants, where it is cleaned before being supplied to clients mostly on Houston’s west side.
Through a 7,000-mile pipeline distribution system, Houston’s Drinking Water Operations generated and distributed more than 160 billion gallons of water in 2017.
Houston treated an average of 449 million gallons per day (MGD) of water in 2017. The majority of this water is used in the manufacturing and industrial sectors.