What is the NHCRWA Fee?
The North Harris County Regional Water Authority (“NHCRWA”) is a governmental entity created by the Texas Legislature that assists in converting the region within its boundaries from using groundwater to predominantly surface water. In order to comply with the legislative mandate to reduce groundwater usage, HCMUD 249 (“the District”), along with other municipal utility districts in the area, is part of the NHCRWA’s Groundwater Reduction Plan ("GRP").
To comply with the groundwater reduction mandate, the NHCRWA is responsible for constructing the necessary water delivery infrastructure to deliver surface water to the areas within the NHCRWA. In order to design, construct, and operate the necessary infrastructure, the NHCRWA assesses fees to the well owners/municipal utility districts within the NHCRWA's boundaries based on the amount of water pumped by their wells or the amount of surface water received from the NHCRWA.
The NHCRWA assesses a fee for both groundwater and surface water usage by residents. This fee is used by the NHCRWA to fund projects and to meet legislatively-mandated surface water conversion goals. Find more information on the NHCRWA and their programs on their website, www.nhcrwa.org.
Securing a long-term, reliable supply of wholesale drinking water for North Harris County
Accordingly, the NHCRWA charges the District a fee for every 1,000 gallons of groundwater withdrawn by the District (the "GRP Fee"), and the GRP Fee may be increased by the NHCRWA from time to time. The District then passes the GRP Fees, plus a 3.5% surcharge to cover related District costs, 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 103.5% of the GRP Fee charged to the District by the NHCRWA for each 1,000 gallons of water for that period.
The NHCRWA fee that residents see on their bill is not a fee levied by the District; it is a mandatory fee levied by the NHCRWA that is passed through to residents via their water bills. This fee is based solely on how much water they use in their home. Residents can see the current and historical NHCRWA fees here.
If you have any further questions on this or anything else related to HCMUD 249, please do not hesitate to utilize the contact form on the District website.
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