As residents of Westlake Municipal Utility District No. 1 (Westlake MUD 1) are experiencing higher-than-normal billing due to water usage as the 2022 drought conditions continue, we wanted to update residents regarding the West Harris County Regional Water Authority line on their bill.
The West Harris County Regional Water Authority (WHCRWA) is a governmental entity created in 2001 by the Texas Legislature that assists in converting the region within its boundaries from using groundwater to mostly surface water in order to combat subsidence. In order to comply with the legislative mandate to reduce groundwater usage, Westlake MUD No. 1, along with other municipal utility districts in the area, is part of the WHCRWA’s Groundwater Reduction Plan (GRP).
To comply with the groundwater reduction mandate, the WHCRWA is responsible for constructing the necessary water delivery infrastructure to deliver surface water to the areas within the WHCRWA. In order to design, construct, and operate the necessary infrastructure, the WHCRWA assesses fees to the well owners/municipal utility districts within the WHCRWA's boundaries based on the amount of water pumped by their wells or the amount of surface water received from the WHCRWA. More information on the WHCRWA and their programs is on their website, www.whcrwa.com.
Accordingly, the WHCRWA charges the District a fee for every 1,000 gallons of water withdrawn by the District (the "GRP Fee"), and the GRP Fee may be increased by the WHCRWA from time to time. The District then passes the GRP Fees through to the District's users based on the amount of water they use. As such, each user within the District is billed, in addition to the district's water rates, a separate amount for each 1,000 gallons of water delivered to such user in a billing cycle that is equal to the GRP Fee charged to the District by the WHCRWA for each 1,000 gallons of water for that period. This fee, which began in 2001, is based solely on how much water they use. The current and historical WHCRWA fees are viewable here.
If you have any further questions on this or anything else related to Westlake MUD No. 1, please do not hesitate to utilize the “Contact Us” form on the District website.
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