What is a Regional Water Authority (RWA)?

Many Residents wonder “What is this fee on my bill?”. RWA’s are Governmental entities created by the Texas legislature that assist specific regions in converting ground water usage (such as aquifers and wells) to primarily surface water usage (such as lakes and rivers). The purpose of this conversion is to better manage our water sources for the future by keeping the integrity of the aquifers and wells intact.

There are 9 RWA’s in the Gulf Coast area of Texas, all tasked with developing and implementing a strategy for complying with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District’s Regulatory Plan that aims to use no more than 20% of total water demand from groundwater by 2030. Residents may recognize an RWA name or abbreviation from their water bill. Because RWA’s are not taxing entities, funding for these initiatives are gathered from the sale of revenue bonds or paid for by groundwater pumpage fees. This subsequently means the costs are passed onto the customers. Typically, an RWA fee is charged per 1,000 gallons of water used and can be found on your water bill.

The West Harris County Regional Water Authority (WHCRWA) is extremely active in building and managing infrastructure in the west Harris County area. As of June 2024, they have successfully designed and constructed over 81 miles of new waterlines within it’s boundaries, constructed a new pump station, and delivers approximately 28 million gallons of water per day of surface water. The WHCRWA is currently working on two additional pump stations, and services over 150 Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) In the west Harris County area, which in turn provides water to an estimated 626,800 people in the area.

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