Show All Answers

1. I never received my water bill. Can you send me another bill?

We are happy to send a duplicate bill, for a fee of $2.25; however, customers can now access, print and / or review the previous 12 months Municipal Utility Statements by signing in through the payment portal here. If you still would like staff to provide you with the statement, call Customer Service at (972) 721-2411.

2. Can you explain the details on my bill, what are all these charges for?

With the goal of achieving greater accountability through transparency, the City of Irving has embarked on a mission to empower citizens to track their dollars at work. This breakdown of your statement provides details about how and where city funds are spent. The details of your statement are as follows: 

• Water Service Charge: This charge is a base charge set on meter size and includes the first 3,000 gallons of water usage on the meter each month. 
• Regulatory Fee: This fee is based on charges that are incurred from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and must be paid by all rate payers in the City of Irving on a per meter basis. 
• Water Usage: This charge is calculated and bill based on water consumption over the base “Water Service Charge.” These are structured in an inverted rate and based on usage tiers. These tiers are as follows: 
  • 4,000 to 10,000 gallons are billed at $4.72 per thousand
  • 11,000 to 20,000 gallons are billed at $5.09 per thousand
  • Any consumption 21,000 gallons and over are billed at (October through May) $5.44 per thousand and (June through September) $5.98 per thousand. 
• Purchase and Treatment: This fee is based on a percentage of the total budget the City of Irving allocates to water purchased and treated by the City of Dallas. 
• Sewer: This charge is based on a winter month’s average (January, February, and March) and is calculated using the water usages for the given months. This is charged starting April of the given year and recalculates each year based on the usages for the above mentioned months. 
• Sewer Treatment: This fee is based on a percentage of the total budget the City of Irving allocates for wastewater treatment from Trinity River Authority (TRA). 
• Sanitation: This charge is for garbage pick-up services and is based on overall budget needs by the Sanitation Department. This is also the only Taxable item on the Municipal Services Bill. 
• Sales Tax: This charge is based on sales tax for the sanitation charge (see above) and is calculated based on City of Irving sales tax requirements. 
• EMS Fee (October 2009): This fee supplements all emergency medical service operations and equipment costs and is based on budgetary needs for Ambulatory services. These fees are charged to all account holders in the city. 
• Drainage: This fee is assessed on all property in the City of Irving and funds storm water drainage issues (Creek blockages, drainage culvert issues, etc.) in the city. The fee is calculated based on non- impervious surface area on the property.
• Utility Franchise Fee: This fee is 2 percent of the water, sewer and sanitation charge on your monthly bill and funds public safety activities within the City of Irving. 
• Surcharge: This charge is assessed to an account that discharges a higher than normal (over strength) sewer discharge into the City of Irving sewerage system. This is calculated based on a formula as outlined in the Book of Ordinances Chapter 52 subsection 4 and fees are mandated by TRA. 

Charges listed above are referring to the current ordinance as of Oct. 1, 2019 and are subject to change at anytime with council approval.

3. I know I used less water this month but the usage is still high. Why?

The City of Irving bills your water usage in "arrears."  This means that a customer must use water before the city bills you for it. By the time a customer receives a statement from the city, usage is approximately three weeks into the next billing period.  

The city also strives to keep service periods between 28 to 34 days (since there are months short of 31 days). Pay close attention to the service period dates listed on the statement and ask...  

• Did I have my sprinklers on during this period (maybe adjusting the timers)?
• Did I have added guests during the period for the holidays?
• Did I put in new sod, seed or landscaping that required additional watering?
• How often did I have to "top-off" our pool this period?  

You may also need to refer to the same time last year for the consumption used during that period. 

If you still believe there may be an issue we are here to help. Call the Customer Service Department for help at (972) 721-2411 or email customer-service@cityofirving.org  

4. Why is my water bill so high?

Leaking or constantly running toilets are the most common cause of high water bills, even though they are not always the easiest to find. The best way to check for a leak in the toilet is to add a couple of drops of food coloring to the water in the back tank portion of the toilet. Wait 15 to 20 minutes without flushing the toilet, check the water in the bowl area.  If the water in the bowl has changed color, then there is evidence that your toilet needs repair.  This also may require several test to discover the leak.

Other possible explanations:

• A change in the number of people in the household.
• New appliances such as a dishwasher, hot water tank, heating system or lawn sprinklers.
• Result of higher seasonal demands, such as filling pools, watering lawns or other outdoor activities.
• It could be the result of a "catch-up" bill. If the meter was misread or estimated on the previous bill, it could result in higher usage and charge when an accurate or actual reading was obtained.

If you find that no toilets, sinks, water heaters, ice makers, faucets or outside connections are leaking, you may wish for someone from the utilities department to check the meter. The Water Utilities Department will not be able to investigate private property. City staff will simply inspect to see if the meter is indicating water flow when the household is not using water to determine if there is another issue.

5. Why is my bill higher than my neighbor's?

Many times neighbors like to compare water bill dollar amounts. However, this comparison does not accurately reflect what may be occurring in any single household. Water usage habits vary greatly from the number of people in a household to how often hands are washed to how long people shower. Other factors could include what types of toilet(s) are installed, the size of the washing machine, how often dishes are washed, if more baths are taken than showers, if a sprinkler system is installed and how often it is used, or even if the property has a pool and how often it is filled.  

Because of the different variables that could contribute to the amount of water used, the most accurate way to compare the usage would be to go back to a year ago and compare usage during that time. This allows for a more accurate comparison.

6. How is the (residential) sewer bill calculated?

Due to the fact that it is not cost-efficient to meter wastewater use, the City of Irving uses an averaging technique to bill for wastewater services. Water consumption is averaged in winter months (January, February, and March as reflected in the bills received by customers for the months of February, March, and April). This average is then applied to the wastewater rates.

This is considered to be the best time to measure wastewater, as most customers irrigate less in these months and most water consumption is sent to the wastewater collection system after use. For example, if the water usage for January, February, and March is, respectively:

• 8,000 gallons
• 11,000 gallons
• 11,000 gallons
• Total: 30,000 gallons / 3 months = 10,000 gallons

In this case, the wastewater billed for the next year from May through April would be based on 10,000 gallons per month.

If a customer has not had sufficient time in the residence to establish a winter month's average, that customer’s sewer charge will be 80 percent of their water consumption until such an average is established.

7. I've just received notification that my landlord has not been paying the utility bills. What can I do?

While we cannot provide you with legal advice, the Texas Property Code respective to this subject is as follows:

Texas Property Code § 92.301. Landlord Liability to Tenant for Utility Cutoff (a) A landlord who has expressly or impliedly agreed in the lease to furnish and pay for water, gas, or electric service to the tenant's dwelling is liable to the tenant if the utility company has cut off utility service to the tenant's dwelling or has given written notice to the tenant that such utility service is about to be cut off because of the landlord's nonpayment of the utility bill. (b) If a landlord is liable to the tenant under Subsection (a) of this section, the tenant may: (1) pay the utility company money to reconnect or avert the cutoff of utilities according to this section; (2) terminate the lease if the termination notice is in writing and move-out is to be within 30 days from the date the tenant has notice from the utility company of a future cutoff or notice of an actual cutoff, whichever is sooner; (3) deduct from the tenant's rent, without necessity of judicial action, the amounts paid to the utility company to reconnect or avert a cutoff; (4) if the lease is terminated by the tenant, deduct the tenant's security deposit from the tenant's rent without necessity of lawsuit or obtain a refund of the tenant's security deposit pursuant to law; (5) if the lease is terminated by the tenant, recover a pro rata refund of any advance rentals paid from the date of termination or the date the tenant moves out, whichever is later; (6) recover actual damages, including but not limited to moving costs, utility connection fees, storage fees, and lost wages from work; and (7) recover court costs and attorney's fees, excluding any attorney's fees for a cause of action for damages relating to a personal injury. (c) When deducting for the tenant's payment of the landlord's utility bill under this section, the tenant shall submit to the landlord a copy of a receipt from the utility company which evidences the amount of payment made by the tenant to reconnect or avert cutoff of utilities. (d) The tenant remedies under this section are effective on the date the tenant has notice from the utility company of a future cutoff or notice of an actual cutoff, whichever is sooner. However, the tenant's remedies under this section shall cease if: (1) the landlord provides the tenant with written evidence from the utility that all delinquent sums due the utility have been paid in full; and (2) at the time the tenant receives such evidence, the tenant has not yet terminated the lease or filed suit under this section.

8. Why do I have to come to City Hall in order to have my water service started?

To protect customer identity, all new services must be requested in person. The applicant is required to present a government issued photo ID and may also be asked to provide proof of residency at the service location. In order to receive services the same day, please complete this application process by 2 p.m.

9. Why does my payment take two bank business days to credit to my account?

When most banks electronically transfer money with another bank, the money goes through a secure network called the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system.

Basically, they pull their customers' transfer requests together each bank business day and send them off to the ACH. That system then pulls together all the files they receive from thousands of banks each bank business day and routes the transfers to the appropriate receiving bank. All of this generally takes two bank business days. Add an extra day for federal holidays.