The gist
On May 22, the city of Pearland will launch the Pearland Water Customer Portal, a digital platform that aims to transform how Pearland water customers interact with their water utility services, according to a March news release from the city.
Key features of the Pearland Water Customer Portal include:
- Convenient, expanded bill payment options
- Hour-by-hour insights into water usage
- Customizable usage alerts via text, email or phone call
- Water conservation tips and resources
- Potential leak detection alerts
As part of the new system, customers can sign up for e-bills or printed physical bills, but not both. Customers will also have flexibility to receive leak alerts and high usage notifications by email, text or phone call, Pearland Communications Director Josh Lee said.
“They don't even have to use a portal if they don't want to,” Lee said. “They can pay their bill just directly, without having to use the portal at all. There's all sorts of ways that people can get alerts and that's all self-selected.”
What else?
The launch of the Pearland Water Customer Portal marks the final step in Pearland utilities’ transition to advanced metering infrastructure, or AMI.
AMI meters allow utilities to remotely collect real-time water use data, enabling more frequent billing and quick identification of excessive water use that could result from leaks, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website.
Looking ahead
The city will provide instructions on how to sign up for the portal prior to launch on www.pearlandtx.gov/portal, Lee said.
