NBC 5 Responds to North Texas water customers facing higher rates. Neighbors said they want to know if the increase is justified. RATE HIKE AHEAD For Albert Plasket, bills have been getting bigger. “My phone bill, you name it, groceries, gasoline, everyone’s in the same boat,” Plaske t said. Plasket is paying more for water, too, according to a rate notice he received in the mail. The letter, dated July 20, said higher rates would take effect with the September 10, 2026, bill. The notice gave this reason for the increase: “After having a rate study done by the Public Utilities Commission and with the rising cost of everything, we are raising our rates. The rate increase will go into effect for your September 10th, 2026, bill.” Depending on usage, a residential customer with a single meter could see a rate increase ranging from 55 cents per 1,000 gallons to $4.50 per 1,000 gallons in the highest single-meter usage category. According to the notice, the monthly minimum service charge is also up from $43 to $55 per meter. Plasket and his neighbor, Tim Crossno, had questions. ‘WERE THERE ANY PUBLIC HEARINGS?’ “What’s the problems that you have today that’s causing you to raise the rate that much? Or is it just because somebody said you could raise the rates and you did?” Crossno asked. The neighbors live in a part of Johnson County that doesn’t get city water. They receive water service from the Bethany Special Utility District. It’s governed by an elected board, made up of fellow Bethany SUD water customers. Plasket and Crossno said they didn’t know their board was considering new rates until they received notice it approved a hike. “Were there any public hearings? You know it just brings everything into question,” Plasket said. The Public Utility Commission of Texas said, by law, the SUD’s elected board is responsible for reviewing, adopting and approving rates charged to customers. The PUCT also said it does not have rules requiring a special utility district to provide advance notice to customers that its board will consider a rate increase. The PUCT said it does not require a public hearing before a SUD adopts new rates. The Bethany SUD board president told NBC 5 Responds the board approved the rate hike at its May meeting. Board meetings are open to the public. The day NBC 5 stopped by the Bethany SUD office in Alvarado, the Bethany SUD business manager said the board was scheduled to meet that evening and would address customer feedback on the new rates. Plasket and Crossno said they didn’t know about the August 25 meeting. NBC 5 didn’t either. The agenda wasn’t posted on the Bethany SUD website or on its social media. A printout was tacked up outside the Bethany SUD office in Alvarado. That evening, before the in-person meeting was scheduled to start, Board President David Woodard announced it would be postponed because notice wasn’t online. Woodard told NBC 5 Responds he didn’t know why the notice wasn’t published on the water district’s website. Woodard said the SUD typically posts meeting agendas online. He also told NBC 5 the utility could improve its communication with customers. “We all can do better on public relations. We do need to make sure that the district is better informed,” said Woodard. Woodard said board members volunteer their time and it can be tough to find people willing to serve on the board. Woodard said the board raised rates because the cost of maintaining the system is up. He pointed to the price of electricity to run pumps, salaries for workers and raw materials like pipes. Woodard said it’s a relatively small utility with approximately 1,400 customers to spread out infrastructure maintenance costs. “We do what we can to keep it running and no more,” Woodard said. We asked how the board settled on the new rates. “Being a self-contained district, we have to make sure we have positive cash flow in order to keep the water flowing,” said Woodard. “We looked at the PUC’s recommendations and they were substantially higher than our existing rates and we did not want to put that on our customers.” The rate increase notice to customers said it was raising rates after having a rate study done by the ‘Public Utilities Commission’. We asked for a copy. The Bethany SUD business manager provided a chart. We asked the Public Utility Commission of Texas about it. In an email to NBC 5, the PUCT said the chart was made by a third-party consultant, training the district on how to study its rates based on the water district’s operational and financial records. The PUCT wrote, “Any charts or rate-related analyses provided through that process were developed as training and technical assistance materials. They were not a PUCT rate order, recommendation, or approval of a rate increase.” The PUCT can review rates if at least 10% of impacted customers appeal a rate change within 90 days. The PUCT said it may determine if appealed rates are “just and reasonable”. https://www.puc.texas.gov/faucetfacts/water-and-sewer-utility-districts/ ‘WHEN’S IT GONNA BE TOO MUCH?’ “If we don’t stand up, where are they gonna stop or when’s it gonna be too much?” said Plasket. Plasket said he wants to know if the utility could have phased in hikes to give customers more time to adjust. Crossno said he wants more government oversight over rate setting because customers don’t have a choice of where to buy water. Crossno noted that using less water to try to reduce bills would come with its own cost. “We spent a lot of money on landscaping and we want to keep it alive if we can. It hadn’t rained in a month, so that doesn’t help,” said Crossno. The Bethany SUD business manager told NBC 5 a home like Plasket’s would see about a $26 difference on its bill. The business manager said she would work with customers who couldn’t afford the new rates. Customers would have to call Bethany SUD and ask for assistance. Customers would have to provide proof they qualify for government assistance. Our NBC 5 Responds team is digging into affordability issues in North Texas. We want to know: are higher costs changing the way you live? You can weigh in here. Survey results will be included in future NBC 5 Responds reporting. ...read more read less