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Important Contact Information for Water and Sewer Issues
Municipal District Services, LLC 24-Hour Service (report repairs and emergencies) 281-290-6503 Customer Care & Billing 281-290-6507 Builder Services 281-290-6503
PAYMENT OPTIONS MAIL DROP BOX No payments processed inside. PAYMENT
WINDOW Checks, money orders, or cashier's checks accepted.
IN-STORE CREDIT
CARD CHECK
BY PHONE Service Calls (24 Hours, 7 Days a week) Understanding Your Monthly Water Bill Fort Bend Municipal Utility District No. 23 is responsible for providing water, sewer, and garbage service to businesses and residents within its boundaries. Payment is due the 5th of each month and a residential water bill is calculates as follows:
ATTENTION CUSTOMERS: The Groundwater Reduction Fee is $1.10 per 1,000 gallons of water consumed. This mandatory fee is a direct pass through of what the MUD is charged by the City of Missouri City to meet surface water conversion requirements of the Fort Bend Subsidence District. Read below for a complete explanation of this fee. Our MUD District's operator is Municipal District Services. We contract with Municipal District Services to read the meters, bill and collect monthly for water service in the district in addition to maintaining operation of our water/sewer system in a cost effective manner that meets all local, state, and federal guidelines. Fees for Late Payments/Disconnection Accounts not current within 30 days will be assessed a late charge equal to 10 percent of the unpaid balance. A notice of delinquency and warning of potential termination will be sent via United States mail, and a handling fee of $5.00 will be added to the account. Terminated services will result in a $50.00 reconnection fee and a $60.00 additional deposit. Payments that are returned for insufficient funds will also be assessed a $25.00 handling charge. Fresno Volunteer Fire Department Voluntary Donation Each month on your water bill there appears three line items. They are:
The Volunteer Fire Department Donation is a voluntary $3 donation to the Fresno Volunteer Fire Department (FVFD). The FVFD is the designated fire protection for the subdivisions that make up Fort Bend MUD 23. It is a truly volunteer department whereby no member receives compensation for his or her service. FVFD activities are funded through donations, fund-raisers held throughout the year and a fee per fire or medical run, paid by Fort Bend County. Monthly donations from the MUD 23 water bills average over $4,500 each month and reflect overwhelming generosity on the part of our community. Over the last six years this income has played an important role in the fire department's ability to make monthly payments on a fire truck that they would otherwise not be able to afford. The MUD Board Directors fully support the activities of the department but feel it is important to remind our customers periodically this line item on your water bill is voluntary. Each month you have the choice of subtracting the $3 from your bill prior to payment or donating a lesser amount. Thank you again for supporting OUR Fire Department. SURFACE WATER CONVERSION REQUIREMENTSEXPLANATION OF GROUNDWATER REDUCTION PLAN FEE Under a 1989 mandate by the Texas Legislature, the entire Houston/Galveston area is required to develop a plan for reducing our dependence on groundwater. Here in Fort Bend MUD 23 (MUD 23) groundwater is pumped to your homes from the Chicot and Evangeline Aquifers which are located hundreds of feet below our neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods in the Houston area already receive surface water, for example pumped out of Lake Houston, treated and piped to their homes, but residents of MUD 23 have always received groundwater. The overuse of groundwater in the Houston area has resulted in negative impacts including land subsidence and declining water levels in the Chicot and Evangeline Aquifiers. This link in Wikipedia does a good job of explaining Groundwater related Subsidence: Wikipedia Subsidence. The Legislature created the Fort Bend Subsidence District (FBSD), whose purpose is to provide for the regulation of the withdrawal of groundwater within Fort Bend County to alleviate these negative impacts. Here is a link to both the Harris County and Fort Bend County Subsidence Districts: Subsidence. A year or so ago MUD 23 elected to join the Missouri City Groundwater Reduction Plan (MCGRP). Other participating communities include Sienna Plantation, Riverstone, Quail Valley, Lake Shore Harbour, Vicksburg and Lake Olympia. All MUDs in the Houston area are joining with another entity as most, like us, are too small to "go it alone". Again, everyone is under the same mandate so MUDs and Cities are joining forces to make it more economical for everyone. Additionally, significant penalties could be assessed for failure to comply with the legislative mandate to reduce groundwater usage and convert some consumers to surface water and thus halt the effects the subsidence. A MCGRP meeting was recently held where the initial fee for implementing the GRP was announced. That fee currently is $1.10 per 1,000 gallons of water pumped. The first bill to Missouri City from MUD 23 was issued on August 15, 2008 and was for all the water pumped out of the ground during July. That number times $.70 was paid to Missouri City. Since that time, the fee increased to $1.10. These calculations and bills will continue from now on. It will always exist and will actually increase over the next few years. Residents will see this fee as a line item on their monthly water bills. As mentioned before, all neighboring communities and MUDs are going through the same process and some communities in Houston have been paying this fee to their GRP for several years. WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? The money collected and remitted monthly to the Missouri City GRP will be used to construct a new water treatment plant and all the piping necessary to convert a portion of their GRP to Brazos River water. MUD 23 IS NOT PART OF THE CONVERSION. We are required to participate monetarily to pay for the plan but we will NOT be receiving the Brazos River water into our homes. We will continue to utilize groundwater from our current sources but to reduce the overall subsidence by reducing groundwater pumpage in the area, we are mandated to participate in a plan and pay our fair share. Subsidence affects many areas, and not just Fort Bend County. Harris and Galveston Counties have similar surface water conversion requirements. MUDs in those counties participate in regional GRPs put in place by entities like the North Harris County Regional Water Authority, West Harris County Regional Water Authority, and Central Harris County Regional Water Authority. HELPFUL LINKS: Subsidence Districts: Other Regional GRPs:
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For any questions regarding water service:
Municipal
District Services, LLC
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