AMARILLO, TEXAS --
Water has been a hot topic in the Panhandle this summer but the past few days, it's water "bills" that have people talking.
On Facebook, many of you told us your water bills this past month were abnormally high. The city reported the average bill for residential households at almost $84! Sarah, one of our Facebook fans, told us her bill almost doubled this past month, even though she used the same amount of water as normal. But officials say there haven't been any added fees or a change in water rates.
"There are no added fees. We've not had a fee or rate increase since October of 2010", says Director of Utilities Emmett Autrey.
One possible reason for the increase -- residences using more than 30,000 gallons per month are paying higher water rates.
"If you get into those rate tiers that water is expensive. It's a conservation purpose and we're hoping that it will discourage people from using large volumes of water", adds Autrey.
Autrey also says our record-breaking drought is, yet again, a huge factor when it comes to water usage.
"I think that we will find that the majority are just using more water than they did last year and I know it's hard for people to accept but as dry and hot as it is this year, people typically use more water to keep their grass green", continues Autrey.
If you're concerned about the accuracy of your water bill or meter reading, call Amarillo's Utility Billing department at 378-3030.
