Author: HCMUD 501

Harris County MUD 500 Master – Water Supply Update

The Harris County MUD 500 Master District Service Area, including Harris County MUD Nos. 500, 501, 502, and 503, remain under a boil water advisory at this time.

As you may have heard, the City of Houston has lifted its boil water advisory. The City supplies potable water to the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (Authority), which in turn supplies water to the Master District. The Authority and the Master District now are taking the steps necessary to lift their respective boil water advisories, including water sampling.

If the results are satisfactory, the Authority and the Master District may be able to lift their boil water advisories this evening or tomorrow, February 23rd. We will provide updated information as soon as it is available.

Harris County MUD 500 – Master District Water Supply Update

Harris County MUD 500, as Master District, heard from the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (Authority) this morning that the Authority is beginning to receive surface water from the City of Houston and expect to begin delivery sometime later today. The Towne Lake Community, including Harris County MUD 500, as Master District (which supplies water to HC MUD Nos. 500, 501, 502, and 503), and Harris County MUD 172 are at the top of the priority list to start receiving surface water as soon as it’s available.

As you may have seen on the news, the City of Houston, which provides the surface water to the Authority, currently remains on a boil water advisory, and the Master District likely will need to remain on a boil water advisory until approximately 24 hours after the City lifts its advisory. Currently, the City is estimating that its advisory will be lifted on Monday. If that occurs, the Master District may be able to lift the boil water advisory on Tuesday. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Trash Service on Friday, February 19th

At this time, Texas Pride expects to be able to collect trash only (no recycling) as scheduled on Friday, February 19th. However, please be advised that depending on weather and road conditions, collection may be significantly delayed. In addition, if conditions become too hazardous, collection may be suspended or cancelled. The MUD 501 Board expects to send out an additional alert if notified of a suspension or cancellation of Friday’s collection services.

Due to personnel shortages at Texas Pride associated with staff experiencing power and water outages and damage to their homes, the HC MUD 501 Board respectfully requests that residents place their trash at the curb rather than the customary garage door location. Please be advised that Texas Pride personnel also may return your trash receptacles to the curb rather than the customary garage door location during tomorrow’s collection.

For specific questions about trash and recycling collection, or to report service issues, please contact Texas Pride, at (281) 342-8178 (M-Th 8:00 am-5:00 pm, F 8:00 am-4:00 pm), or service@texaspridedisposal.com. We appreciate your patience and understanding through this incredibly challenging time.

Harris County MUD No. 500 – Master Notice Regarding Water Supply

Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 500, as Master District, provides the potable (drinking) water supply to the Towne Lake Master District Service Area, including Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 501. The Master District purchases the potable water it provides to the Master District Service Area from the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (Authority). This morning, the operator for the Authority notified the Master District’s operator, Environmental Development Partners (EDP), that the City of Houston had shut off its water supply to the Authority due to the ongoing weather conditions.

The Master District maintains interconnects with nearby municipal utility districts to provide potable water during service outages. This afternoon, EDP confirmed that the interconnect with the adjoining municipal utility district, Remington Municipal Utility District No. 1 (Remington), has been opened and is providing potable water service to the Master District Service Area at this time. EDP currently expects that the water supply provided by Remington should be sufficient to serve the Master District Service Area. However, the Master District encourages all residents to be mindful of water usage and to isolate and shut off any leaking pipes or other fixtures promptly.

Due to regional communication issues, please be advised that EDP’s telephone system currently is not operational. In addition, due to the high volume of e-mail requests and expected high volume of calls once phone service is re-established, response times may be significantly longer than usual. We appreciate your patience through these extremely challenging conditions.

Tuesday Trash and Recycling Update

As you know, the greater Houston area is projected to experience wintry conditions, with sleet, snow, and freezing temperatures expected to occur over the next several days. At this time, Texas Pride expects to be able to collect trash and recycling as scheduled on Tuesday, February 16th. However, please be advised that depending on weather and road conditions, collection may be significantly delayed. In addition, if conditions become too hazardous, collection may be suspended or cancelled. The MUD 501 Board expects to send out an additional alert if notified of a suspension or cancellation of Tuesday’s collection services.

For specific questions about trash and recycling collection, or to report service issues, please contact Texas Pride, at (281) 342-8178 (M-Th 8:00 am-5:00 pm, F 8:00 am-4:00 pm), or service@texaspridedisposal.com.

Freeze Warning

Freezing temperatures possible Sunday through Thursday. Protect pipes, people, and pets!

With upcoming weather expected to reach record lows, we want to remind everyone to take time to inspect and insulate household water lines.

Be sure to wrap exterior pipes and irrigation backflow preventers to avoid issues during extreme cold. For tips on winterizing your irrigation system, view the below video.

Harris County MUD 501 Garbage and Recycling Collection Service Issues

As you know, Harris County MUD 501 (MUD 501) transitioned to a new garbage and recycling provider, Texas Pride Disposal, on November 1, 2020. The MUD 501 Board is aware of service concerns related to the transition, including with respect to collection timing, missed pickups, and return of garbage and recycling carts to the garage door location. Please be assured that we have addressed these concerns with Texas Pride. Texas Pride has responded and taken measures to correct these issues. We have been and are continuing to work with Texas Pride to address all ongoing issues.

Over the past several weeks, garbage and recycling volume was significantly higher than even a typical holiday season due to increased cardboard and other shipping materials associated with higher-than-usual online shopping activities during the continued COVID-19 pandemic. The high volume of trash and recycling materials required Texas Pride crews to make additional visits to empty the trucks, causing a delay in trash and recycling collection for some areas within MUD 501. Now that we are through the holiday season and into the new year, we expect that garbage and recycling volumes should return to normal levels.

In the event you have a garbage or recycling collection service issue, please contact Texas Pride directly, at (281) 342-8178, or service@texaspridedisposal.com, to report the issue so that the issue can be addressed in a timely manner. The Board has requested that Texas Pride track and report all customer calls to the Board so that the Board can identify and address any continued service issues.

The Board also encourages you to sign up for MUD 501 e-mail alerts, at https://www.hcmud501.org/email.

Meter Replacement Program

The Board of Directors (Board) of Harris County MUD 501 (District) recently made the decision to replace its existing mechanical water meters throughout the District with ultra sonic meters.

These new meters will include a smart feature, available via Internet browser and smart phone app, that provides the customers and the District the ability to monitor water use on a near-real time basis.

The District-wide meter replacement process should take approximately five months to complete, and at the conclusion of this effort the smart feature on the meters will be activated, which we anticipate to be sometime in the spring or early summer.

The Board anticipates sending out additional communications regarding this project in the coming months.