CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Several Corpus Christi residents feel they're getting soaked by the city on their water bills. Those affected say their bills have jumped up drastically in the last month, and they want to know why.
Most of the complaints KRIS 6 News received are coming from the southside of town, all with the same story. When they received this month's water bills, their usage rate doubled or more from the previous month -- an increase of hundreds of dollars.
Dana Griffis said she's used to paying between $200 and $300 a month for water, but lately, that's gone up. And not just because the city changed its wastewater rates.
That's because wastewater doesn't affect usage, and the city says Griffis used 42,000 gallons last month.
Griffis' June bill showed 20,000 gallons used.
In July, it was 21,000.
Griffis says she hadn't watered her lawn any more than usual, and to use that much water she'd have to empty and refill her pool -- twice.
”It's hot, and it's summer, and I'm sure that we do use more water,” Griffis said. “But I can't imagine we used 21,000 gallons more.”
People I spoke with, Griffis included, say they've spoken to the utility billing office, and and most weren't satisfied with the answers they received. District 5 City Councilman Gil Hernandez says he's heard from about a dozen people. He's also made City Manager Peter Zanoni aware of the issue. Zanoni has said he will look into it.
According to the city, water usage is up about 20,000,000 gallons a day citywide.
