What Your Baytown Water Bill Is Actually Charging You For

A Baytown utility bill is five things on one page: water, sewer, garbage and recycling, drainage, and the tax and fee lines the city doesn't spell out. On the city's sample bill, garbage and recycling is $40.00 and drainage is $4.00. Water and sewer follow your meter, and both rose with the city's FY2027 budget: water 4.5%, sewer 12.4%.

The City Council adopted that budget on September 10, 2026, and the fiscal year began October 1. The budget book gives a combined figure of 7.9%. The rate table on the city's billing page shows no effective date, so you can't tell from the page alone whether the numbers on it are the old ones or the new ones. Ask Utility Services if the difference matters to you.

The short version

• Garbage and recycling is $40.00 on the city's sample bill.
• The Municipal Drainage Utility Service charge is $4.00 on the same sample.
• FY2027 raises water rates 4.5% and sewer rates 12.4%, or 7.9% combined.
• The water base charge on the billing page is $11.82. The sewer base charge is $12.76. Both are fixed, whatever you use.
• Trash is picked up twice a week, and recycling once a week.
• The Green Center takes extra household debris from residents, and you need a copy of your city water bill to use it.

Water and sewer

Water and sewer are usage lines. The more you use, the more you pay. The city's billing page lists the rate table, but it shows no effective date and sends you to the city's code of ordinances (Municode) for the official water rates. Here is what the page lists, per 1,000 gallons:

• Water: $11.82 base charge. First 2,000 gallons, $3.19. Next 4,000 gallons, $7.20. Over 6,000 gallons, $9.93.
• Sewer: $12.76 base charge. First 2,000 gallons, $3.19. Next 10,000 gallons, $7.20.

The tiers climb fast. The first 2,000 gallons are cheap, and every thousand after that costs more than twice as much. A long summer of lawn watering lands in the $9.93 tier, not the $3.19 one.

The size of the FY2027 change is 4.5% on water and 12.4% on sewer. Here is a household that uses 5,000 gallons a month, worked from the table above. This is an estimate for illustration, not a bill:

• Water: $11.82 + (2 x $3.19) + (3 x $7.20) = $39.80. With 4.5% added, about $41.59.
• Sewer: $12.76 + (2 x $3.19) + (3 x $7.20) = $40.74. With 12.4% added, about $45.79.
• Add $40.00 garbage and $4.00 drainage. The total goes from about $124.54 to about $131.38, a rise of roughly $6.84 a month.

If the table on the billing page already includes the FY2027 increase, the "before" number is the real one and the rise won't show up on top of it. The page doesn't say, which is why the Municode check matters.

FY2027 runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, following FY2026, which ended on September 30, 2026.

Garbage and recycling, $40.00

The sample bill shows $40.00 for garbage and recycling. For that, the city's contractor picks up trash twice a week. Put your bin at the curb by 7 AM.

Trash days depend on where you live. Customers north of Spur 330 and Highway 146 have Monday and Thursday pickup, and customers south of that line have Tuesday and Friday pickup.

Recycling is weekly and uses four zones: - Monday: north of Highway 146, west of Main Street - Tuesday: south of Highway 146, east of Main Street - Thursday: north of Highway 146, east of Main Street - Friday: south of Highway 146, west of Main Street

Drainage, $4.00

The Municipal Drainage Utility Service, or MDUS, charge is $4.00 on the sample bill. It pays for the city's drainage system, which matters in a coastal town where water has to go somewhere. It is the one line on the bill that doesn't care how much water you ran.

When trash is bigger than the bin

The city's Green Center at 1601 W Main takes household debris, brush and limbs, e-waste and recyclables, and it is for residents only. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 12pm to 7pm, and Saturday from 9am to 4pm. It is closed Sunday and Monday.

Fees are $10 for a pickup or car, $10 for a trailer up to 8 feet and $20 for a trailer from 8 to 16 feet. It is cash only. Bring a driver's license and a city water bill with a matching name.

Holidays and trash

The city links its contractor's holiday schedule on its Garbage and Recycle page. For 2026, the contractor's list shows regular collection for City of Baytown customers on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, and on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25. New Year's Day is on the same list. Because holidays shift year to year, check the schedule each time instead of relying on last year's pattern.

Why the sewer line moves more

Sewer rises 12.4% and water 4.5%. The budget book gives the percentages and the 7.9% combined figure. It doesn't lay out the reasoning in a way a bill-payer can use, so we won't guess at it. The practical point is simple: the sewer line is the one growing fastest, so it's the one to watch on your next statement.

Where to ask about a bill

Utility Services is at 315 W Texas Avenue. It is open Monday through Thursday, 7:20 am to 5:30 pm, and Friday, 7:30 am to 11:30 am. The city's billing information and due dates are on its Billing Info page.

Bills run on two cycles. Accounts that start with a 1 are due between the 1st and the 10th of the month. Accounts that start with a 2 are due between the 19th and the 26th. Each cycle has a posted schedule with the delinquent-notice and disconnect dates, so look yours up. The city takes payments through Cadence Bank, online or in person. The billing page lists no late-fee amount. If you set up a payment arrangement and keep to its terms, the city says no penalties are applied.

What this means for you

Find your last bill and write down each line. The fixed fees, meaning the two base charges, garbage and drainage, will not change with a long shower. The water and sewer usage lines will, and both rise with FY2027. If your bill jumps by more than the percentages here, ask Utility Services to check your meter reading.

When it is due, how to pay, and what happens if you are late

The city has two billing cycles for water, sewer and garbage, set by where the property is, and they cannot be changed. If your account number begins with a 1, the bill is due between the 5th and the 10th of the month. If it begins with a 2, it is due between the 20th and the 25th. You get about 14 days from the day the bill is mailed to pay without a penalty. If the bill has not come ten days before the due date, contact the city's customer service office, because not getting a bill does not cancel the penalty.

A bill not paid by the due date gets a 10 percent late charge on the water charge. The city then mails a delinquent notice that gives 12 more days from the original due date. About 26 days after the original bill date, if payment has not reached the office before 4:00 p.m., service is scheduled for disconnection and a $50.00 delinquent fee is added. An online payment on a late bill can take two to three business days to post.

You can pay online through the Baytown Utility Services portal, in person, by mail, at night drop locations, or at the stores the city lists: Food Town, Walmart, Kroger, Joe V's and Ace Cash. Pay-by-phone is no longer offered. The first time you use the portal, you create a profile and link your account with the customer ID and account number from your bill. The portal also lets you go paperless and get text or email notices. If you move, the customer number stays with you while you live in Baytown, but the account number stays with the property address, so a new one is issued when service starts at the new place. To start service, the city asks for an application, a water and sewer deposit contract, proof that you own or rent the place (a closing statement or deed for an owner, a lease or a utility form signed by the landlord for a renter), and a valid ID.

The meter is the city's property and is read each month in thousands of gallons. If you think it reads wrong, you can ask for a meter test. Do not mow over the meter box, because the city may charge you to repair damage.

Setting up a new account is a different job from reading a bill. For the documents, deposits ($100 for owners, $200 for renters) and the $30 connection fee, see how to start water service in Baytown.

Think the meter is wrong? The city reads each meter monthly and will test one on request; see how to ask for a meter test.

Sources

• City of Baytown: Billing Info and Due Dates (https://baytown.org/481/Billing-Info-and-Due-Dates)
• City of Baytown: FY2027 Adopted Budget (https://baytown.org/Archive.aspx?ADID=1317)
• City of Baytown: Garbage and Recycle (https://www.baytown.org/295/Garbage-Recycle)
• City of Baytown: Green Center (https://baytown.org/1227/Green-Center)
• City of Baytown: Utility Services department directory (https://www.baytown.org/m/directory/department?did=14)
• Best Trash: https://best-trash.com/holiday-schedule/
• City of Baytown, Water Utility Accounts (two billing cycles, due dates, late charge, disconnection, new accounts): https://www.baytown.org/300/Water-Utility-Accounts
• City of Baytown, Payment (online portal, other payment places, no pay-by-phone, paperless, moving): https://www.baytown.org/299/Payment
• City of Baytown, Water Meters (monthly reading, meter test): https://www.baytown.org/482/Water-Meters