If there are issues with a water meter, we asked the experts whose responsibility it is to fix it: the homeowner or the city?
HOUSTON — A disabled Navy veteran in northwest Houston is finally getting some relief after being without running water in his home for more than two weeks.
Roy Williamson said he shut off his water on Aug. 12 after discovering that his water meter was causing a leak.
“I couldn’t replace the meter. I can’t get those at Home Depot or Lowe’s or anywhere else, that’s only from the city. I had to wait for them to come out here,” Williamson said.
But after multiple visits from inspectors, he said he received an unexpected response.
“They said we don’t fix your side of the meter,” Williamson recalled.
Williamson said he and his wife, Diane, endured more than two weeks without water in their home.
“We couldn’t flush commodes, we couldn’t wash dishes, our clothes, anything,” he said. “Two weeks of no showers and dirty sheets, it builds up.”
The 69-year-old claimed that when he reached back out to the city to figure out what he should do next, the city gave him the runaround.
“They kept handing off to one person after another on the phone, and each phone call, I’d be transferred at least twice,” Williamson said.
However, after KHOU 11 began asking Houston Public Works about the issue Wednesday night, Williamson said a city crew arrived Thursday morning to fix the problem.
“You guys coming out here and calling them last night or whenever it was, it helped,” he said.
Water service has now been restored to the Williamson home, and the couple is beyond grateful to once again be able to do basic tasks.
“First thing I did was to take my shower, and it felt so good to have hot water running over me again,” Diane Williamson said.
In cases like this, plumbing experts said homeowners are typically responsible for repairs to a water meter if it is on their side of the meter, not on the public utility’s side. It is something many residents may not realize.
“With the water meters, everything on the city side of the meter, the city is responsible for. Anything on the house side of that meter, would be the homeowner’s responsibility,” Gary Vossler, president of Vossler Plumbing Co., said.
His advice if this happens to you and you cannot fix the issue on your own?
“Call a reputable plumber out, and it should be simple enough to solve the problem,” Vossler said.
KHOU 11 reached out to Houston Public Works for more information about Williamson’s situation, but we were told to fill out a disclosure form to get details about his utility account.