Some San Antonio homeowners are getting unexpectedly high water bills after the city replaced their old meters with new digital ones. The new meters, part of SAWS’ ConnectH2O program, track water use every hour and are meant to find leaks and fix billing issues, as reported by KSAT.
North Side resident Toni Legrand told reporters her usual water bill of about $30 jumped to roughly $300 in September and then to $379 in October after a new meter was installed, according to KSAT. The station also reports SAWS told its crew that Legrand had not been billed for water for about 18 months before the swap, which led to a large catch-up charge.
How the Meter Swap Works
SAWS is in the middle of switching out analog meters for ConnectH2O electronic models that record water use every hour. Customers can track that data online, and the utility says it can use the information to detect leaks faster and cut water loss.
Roughly 75% of the utility’s meters had been replaced by the middle of 2025, and SAWS said it was aiming to finish the citywide rollout by the end of the year to reduce water that is used but not billed, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
What SAWS Tells Customers to Do
The utility says the new meters can send leak alerts by text or email and let customers see hourly water use so they can act before a shocking bill arrives, according to SAWS. Homeowners are urged to inspect the meter box and nearby yard for signs of leaks.
Anyone facing an unusually high bill can call SAWS customer service at 210-704-SAWS (7297) or request a check from the utility’s leak-detection team through its online tools, the agency says.
Neighbors Say Their Bills Spiked Too
Legrand is not alone. Homeowners across San Antonio have been venting on neighborhood forums about higher-than-normal bills after new meters were installed. A review of Nextdoor posts turned up multiple threads where residents reported bills jumping two to five times higher after a swap, according to KSAT.
Those online stories range from gradual, steady increases to sudden bills that ballooned by several hundred dollars in a single month.
Why the Push Matters and What Comes Next
SAWS calls reducing “non-revenue water” a top priority. That category includes water lost through leaks and water that is not recorded correctly by meters. The utility says more accurate meters will help it find problem spots, prioritize repairs and protect the city’s water supply, according to SAWS.
Coverage of the ConnectH2O program also notes that short-term billing adjustments can pop up when new meters correct under-measuring that had gone on for months or even years, as detailed in installation push reporting.
For now, SAWS advises any customer hit with an unexpectedly high bill to contact customer service, request a review and a leak inspection and check hourly usage through their SAWS My Account page. The utility says its leak-detection crews can respond to suspected service-line problems and reminds customers with billing questions to call 210-704-SAWS (7297).
