A city spokesperson said, “Typically, stolen meter work orders are completed on the same day they are assigned, except in cases where the property is a vacant lot, under construction with no service line, or based on the professional judgment of the technician that reinstalling the meter would likely result in it being stolen again due to the absence of an active tenant. Most thefts occur in areas where new development is in progress, or the property is vacant.”
What does Click2Houston recommend?
Anytime a city service or department isn’t working as it should, reach out to your city council member. They have constituent liaisons who can intervene and help you get what you need.
Caveat:
Contact your district council person as the at-large don’t respond to such concerns. They have the same budget amount for staff, but they don’t believe that they should help. If they do respond, they will tell you to contact your district council member. I am lucky to live in Council Member Pollard’s district and have one of the best people to help us out, David Alexander.
Public Works changes its response; it blames 311.
“Houston Public Works acknowledges the delay in replacing the water meters for the Dennis Street properties after receiving the first report of the theft in March 2025 and apologizes for any disruption. Our Utility Billing team removed all base water and wastewater charges for Mr. Pham when he was without a water meter and for the vacant lots at the other addresses. We reviewed the 311 call logs and were not told about the landlord having to relocate tenants due to the delay, and did not find records of advising the owner to hire a plumber.”
