About 1 in 4 Dallas water utility customers is behind on their bills, and city officials say they plan to start cutting off service and levying fines if people haven’t paid off the debt or set up payment plans by mid-September.
Around 26% of more than 313,000 customers are at least 60 days past due on their bills that cover Dallas water, sewer and stormwater services, city officials say. Customers who are behind will start getting letters during the week of Aug. 19 saying they need either to pay off their balances or create a payment plan, which could last up to six months. City officials said they will start charging late fees and disconnecting services Sept. 18.
Sarah Standifer, Dallas Water Utilities director, said the average past-due balance is about $120-$130. Dallas doesn’t disconnect service when temperatures peak in the summer, she said.
More than 1,000 customers have set up repayment plans, the water director noted.
“The ability to offer payment plans is really where we try to offer that flexibility,” she said. “We know that people are struggling, and some of them are our most vulnerable populations.”
Dallas Water Utility customers who pay their bills either in person, by phone or by mail make up around 60% of total accounts and around 95% of past-due accounts, according to data provided by the water department. The rest pay online.
City officials expect water utility bills to continue steadily increasing due to rising staff and maintenance costs, among other factors.
The city estimated in September that the average residential water bill would rise from $71.33 a month to $73.54 starting in October 2024. It estimated the average bill will increase every year until it hits $79.25 a month in October 2027.
Starting next week, the Dallas City Council plans to begin discussing city’s upcoming budget and proposed rate changes, which could include updated projections for average water bill costs.
The rate of customers past due on their bills is higher now than around the same time in previous summers, city records show.
Dallas water officials reported to the council in July 2021 that 15% of customers had past-due balances of more than 60 days, with a median balance of $291.55. In July 2022, water officials said the same percentage of customers were past due for more than 60 days, with a median balance of $174.22.
“DWU understands that customers with past-due balances are facing financial hardships and will continue to assist customers by developing a payment plan that fits their budget,” a July 2022 memo to the council said. Officials said at the time more than 6,000 customers who needed extra time to pay their bills had set up payment plans with the city.
Standifer said the city also offers a program called Operation WaterShare, where customers can donate to help families pay their residential water bills.
The news comes five months after the city moved to a new online bill payment platform called DallasGo, and the transition saw many people run into issues.
City officials in March said about 27,000 of 143,000 customers who received emails about moving to the new system got a notice with the wrong account holder’s name. Others said they couldn’t create an account in the new system because it required their account number, which they didn’t know.
Dallas water officials say any customers behind on their bills who are interested in setting up a payment plan can either email dwupaymentplan@dallas.gov, request it through the city’s 311 app, call the water department at 214-651-1441 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or pay in person at Dallas Water Utilities’ special collections division in Room 2DS at Dallas City Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
How to pay your Dallas water utility bill:
- Online through DallasGo
- By mail via check or money order along with the bottom portion of your bill statement to:
City of Dallas
P.O. Box 075277
Dallas, TX 75277-1000
- By phone, 214-651-1441. Note: Dallas Water Utilities doesn’t take payments over the phone with a live person. Payments processed over the phone are made through a voice response system. The agency says this is to protect customers’ personal financial information.
- In-person at Dallas City Hall or an authorized pay station. Call 214-651-1441 for a list of the closest pay stations.