Water bills surge for Pflugerville, Hutto area residents

Since fiscal year 2021-22, base fees rose by $52 for water and wastewater. In the city’s most recent five-year forecast, rates were projected to go up another $35.50 in FY 2025-26, for a total increase of $87.50.

Two-minute impact

The cities of Pflugerville and Hutto provide water and wastewater services to residents and businesses, along with a few additional providers.

Crossroads has 10 water and wastewater service districts in Pflugerville and Hutto and their extraterritorial jurisdictions. Manville Water Supply Corporation, Jonah Special Utility District and Windermere Utility Company also provide utility services to the cities and ETJs.

Jonah SUD Public Information Coordinator Sarah Kitchen said the difference in rates boils down to what it costs to obtain water and maintain the infrastructure system.

“One of the reasons we’re able to keep our rates significantly lower than a lot of areas around us is that we employ our own team in-house to do the construction,” Kitchen said. “Whereas someone like the city of Hutto—who does have a water system that they maintain—they don’t have those people on staff because they’re managing many other projects.”

Residents aren’t able to pick their water provider; rather, it is determined by the geographic location of their home or business. Additionally, some of the providers only provide water services but also bill for wastewater services provided by the city.

The groups of residents impacted by higher water bills include Hutto customers who have seen increases in their wastewater bills, Pflugerville customers who have seen their water and wastewater base rates increase, and Crossroads customers who have reported suddenly higher water usage on their monthly bills.

Pflugerville and Hutto offer interactive utility maps to help determine which water provider serves a residential area. Both residents and nonresidents can enter their addresses to identify the correct service provider and find relevant contact information.

Pflugerville

City of Pflugerville utilities customers saw increases in their water bills due to the planned base rate increases that will continue to take effect in phases over the next couple of years. These rate changes support the water infrastructure projects in progress.

Three major ongoing projects amount to over $500 million of investment in the city’s water and wastewater system, including an additional water line and wastewater plant, as well as a surface plant expansion.

The secondary Colorado River raw water line will nearly double Pflugerville’s raw water supply, the city said. The Wilbarger Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility will be able to treat 6 million gallons per day, and the Surface Water Treatment Plant Expansion will increase the plant’s capacity from 17 MGD to 30 MGD.

Pflugerville charges new developments the highest impact fee allowed by the state, city officials said, but additional funding for these projects is supported by water and wastewater rates.

Rates have also increased for customers in Hutto to fund water infrastructure.

Most water projects are not rehabilitation but new infrastructure due to growth, Hutto Public Works Director Rick Coronado said. The South Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion began in August and will increase capacity from 2.5 MGD to 6 MGD.

“It’s hard to go through a city’s growth without having to invest more in infrastructure needs,” Coronado said. “As the city grows, it’s anticipated that there’s going to be rate increases, but to what level, we don’t know.”

Hutto took over ownership and operations of the Jonah wastewater collection system in 2018. Last March, the city increased rates for Jonah customers to equalize all city-managed wastewater charges. The additional revenue partially helps fund the wastewater treatment plant expansion.

“Customers are seeing a pretty dramatic increase on their monthly bill that they’re receiving, and they are not understanding that Jonah Water does not provide wastewater services; we bill for them,” Kitchen said.

Crossroads, Manville, Jonah and Windermere haven’t increased their water rates since 2023. However, some customers still reported a large hike on their bill.

Meta Bradley Brown lives in the Blackhawk neighborhood in Pflugerville’s ETJ, an area serviced by Crossroads. In September, Brown saw an exponential increase in usage — from 5,000 gallons in August 2024 to 50,000 gallons the next month, amounting to a $300-$400 bill.

“Nothing changed about our habits, other than the bill changed significantly,” Brown said.

Crossroads CEO Andrew Hunt said the company has received 81 complaints out of 3,000 customers about high water usage, and was able to check the homes’ water meters to find the cause of increased water charges.

“[The] majority of those 81 all had leaks or high usage that they weren’t aware of,” Hunt said.Going forward

Hutto requested a comprehensive water and wastewater rate study in December 2024, which aims to assess the city’s existing rates and provide recommendations for rates for all customers.

“The intent of that study is to help shape what increases may impact different customer classes,” Coronado said. “That will provide us with financing for the future and budgeting purposes. That way those projects that are still in play can continue to be financed through the future.”

Pflugerville has planned increases for its customers’ base rates over the next few years while the large infrastructure projects continue. The forecasted base rate in the city is $65.50 for water and $71 for wastewater by fiscal year 2026-2027.

City of Hutto customers can also avoid a credit card fee on their monthly bills by setting up auto drafts, or paying by check or in person.