Water Billing FAQs

Yes.  The Food Town on Garth, Baker, and North Main, Wal-Mart on Garth and Highway 146, Kroger on Garth and Alexander Drive, JoeV’s on Garth, and Ace Cash, both Garth locations.

To avoid late charges, payment must be received in the Utility Billing office by 4:00 p.m. on the due date.

By internet, yes.  Mastercard, Visa, and Discover credit cards. You can pay online by visiting our online payment portal.

To avoid late charges, payment must be received in the Utility Billing office by 4:00 p.m. on the due date.  We do not offer 

phone payments.

Yes.  The late charges are 10% of the water, sewer, garbage, and Municipal Drainage Utility Service (MDUS) charges.

To avoid late charges, payment must be received in the Utility Billing office by 4:00 p.m. on the due date.

Payments left in the night drop after 4:00 p.m. on the due date are considered late and will have a late fee assessed.  Payments made using Official Payments are posted the next business day when funds are received and therefore are considered late.

Yes.  Visit our online payment portal page to set up automatic bank draft.

Yes.  The Utility Billing office sends a notice of non-payment in the form of a letter once the account is past due and at least eight days prior to the proposed termination date.  The letter states the date by which payment must be made to avoid service interruption.

If you own the property, the deposit is $50.00 per unit.  If you are renting or leasing, the deposit is $200.00 per unit.  Business and commercial deposits are calculated based on comparable business use applied to current rates.  There is also a $30.00 service fee per meter. 

Payments received in the Utility Billing office before 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday are posted the same day received.  Payments placed in the night drop box or paid online are posted the next business day.

Yes.  There is a $25.00 service charge to transfer service and the bill must be paid to date.

The City accepts cash, check, money orders, automatic bank draft, and a credit card with proper identification.

In person/drive-thru Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m.

Online:  www.baytown.org (Online Services)

Automatic Bank Draft

Night Drop

Mail:  PO Box 4265 Houston, Texas 77210-4265

Utility Service Payment Portal

This is determined by water usage recorded on your individual water meter, which is read monthly.  The number of occupants of the home, the size of the home, and the size of the lawn are some of the possible factors that my or may not apply.  The meter tells us exact usage.

Yes.  Please contact one of the following office.

Baytown Resource and Assistance Center at 281-424-5752

Harris County Social Services at 281-422-8564

The MDUS fee stands for Municipal Drainage Utility System.  Please contact the Engineering Department at 281-420-6545 for more information.

The past due amount plus a $50.00 delinquent fee. If all outstanding charges or fees are paid in the Utility Billing office before 2:00 p.m., the water will be reconnected the same day. If payment is made after 2:00 p.m., water will be restored the next business day

The $50.00 delinquent fee is automatically generated and charged, if the past due amount is not paid in the Utility Billing office before 4:00 p.m. on the notice for non-payment due date.

At any time authorized by Utility Billing prior to your payment due date.  Once services have been disconnected, a payment arrangement is not available.  All payment arrangements must meet eligibility requirements. 

Once the funds are physically received in the Utility Billing office, which generally takes 1 to 3 days depending on the method used. We encourage you not to use these methods if you have received a delinquent disconnect notice.

When the account is closed, the deposit is applied toward payment of the final billing.  Any credit balance is refunded to the customer by check after the final bill has been processed.

A leak can cause higher usage also seasonal usage such as lawn watering, children’s wading pools, filling pools, additional laundry, and washing automobiles.  Also, a misread or defective meter can cause a high bill.  Your options in case of a leak:  Perform self leak test, request a meter reread ($10.00 charge), or request a meter test ($25.00 charge).  We encourage you to notify us immediately.

You will need to register on the Utility Service payment portal to have access to view your bill on this website.

Yes.  The drive through window is located on the East side of the Utility Billing office.  Hours are 8:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The night deposit box is located just past the drive through window on the East side of the Utility Billing Office.  Payments placed in the night deposit box are posted the next business day.

With the implementation of Automated Meter Reading (AMR), readings are obtained electronically even if the meter box is full of water or has grass grown over it.  The ProRead registers are sealed and transmit through a Meter Interface Unit (MIU) located in the meter box lid which picks up the readings emitted by radio frequency.

Residential sewer charges are based on the customer’s monthly water consumption with a cap of 12,000 gallons per month.  Commercial sewer charges are based on the customer’s monthly water consumption with no cap.

Readings are obtained electronically with a special "drive-by" computer, which picks up the readings emitted by radio frequency through a Meter Interface Unit (MIU). Customers are billed in thousands of gallons so not all dials are used in calculating the bill. The last two digits on the right are dropped when entering the reading for billing, i.e. 547413 is read 6474. The previous reading is subtracted from the current reading to calculate the amount of water used between readings. The meter is read each month.

Yes.  BAWA, Baytown Area Water Authority, tests for quality control 24 hours a day.  They have 94 sampling points, per month, throughout the City of Baytown.  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEW formerly TNRCC) also conducts tests periodically.  BAWA was the fourth plant out of over 500 treatment plants in Texas to receive the Texas Optimization Program (TOP) status.  BAWA goes above and beyond the minimum limits set by TCEQ.

Baytown Area Water Authority (BAWA), a surface water treatment facility which receives their raw water from the City of Houston.

The City has a contract with Cadence Bank in Houston to process payments through our lock box.

Turn off all indoor and outdoor faucets and water operable appliances.  Go to your meter and open the black lid.  You may need a flashlight to wake your meter.  Shine the flashlight on the meter.  If a small faucet with a drip of water appears, you have a leak.

Dripping faucets, leaking joints, and running toilets.  Toilet leaks are the hardest to detect.  Sometimes it takes months before you can hear a toilet leaking.

City of Baytown - Utility Billing 

PO Box 4265

Houston, TX 77210-4265

1-281-869-9199