Latest News

All MUD 208 residents now have smart meters that allow users to access their water usage online and set up leak alerts. Unfortunately, many residents are not taking advantage of this FREE tool, the EyeOnWater app. Once registered for an online account, customers will be able to see how water usage spikes on the days their sprinkler system is active. Another advantage is that customers can receive leak alerts. With this feature, if water is flowing continuously for 24 hours at a customer specified rate, say 1 gallon per hour, the customer is notified by a text and/or email that their household has a leak.  For example, the first graph below shows usage did not reach the set threshold line every hour so no alert is sent. In the second graph, usage exceeded the set threshold line every hour for 24 hours so an alert is sent.

Once a 24-hour period goes by with water flow less than the specified value, an alert is sent that the leak has stopped.

The EyeOnWater app lets you be in control. How’s that you ask? It allows you to engage with how you use water and see your latest water usage, understand how much water you use, detect leaks and discover when you use the most water. It also lets you:

• Quickly View your recent water usage with a two-week comparison.
• View detailed water usage history by day, week, month, and year.
• Discover your short and long term water usage trends
• Monitor your water usage, even when you are away from your home!

Plus, you can easily contact us! This is all simply at your fingertips and part of our service with the smart meters!

There are several ways to sign up for EyeOnWater. You can click on this link Smart Meter Account Sign Up which will send you to the smart water meter webpage on this website.  Another way to sign up is with your smart phone. Scan this QR code below to be directed to the EyeOnWater website or find EyeOnWater in the app store.

No matter how you sign up, you will need the following information to register your account:

• Your zip code
• 10-digit account number shown on your water bill – Example: 53208-XXXXX
• E-mail address (your e-mail address will not be sold or distributed)

Start taking control of your water usage – sign-up now!

Once again, we are all getting our yards back to the healthy, lovely green specimens they were prior to the abuse they suffered during the winter. Have you turned your sprinkler system on and walked the whole system? We recommend you do this to ensure your sprinkler heads are not broken and your whole yard is getting the proper amount of water that it needs. This should be done at the beginning of the irrigation season, and monthly throughout the season.  This is especially true if you have a lawn service and your system runs overnight as you might not realize one of sprinkler heads is broken and you have a fountain that is spraying water everywhere. Remember water is getting more expensive, mostly from charges passed on from the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (WHCRWA). Also, you don’t need to water your lawn daily.  You want to apply about a half-inch to an inch in order to soak the soil deeply. Then allow it to dry out, bringing air back into the soil, before you give it another thorough soaking. This saves water and helps develop a good-rooted, resilient turf.

If you receive a letter from Harris County MUD 208 and you are told you are one of the top 10 residential water users, it is not a good thing. It means your household is using well above the “normal” average household usage of water in our area. Just remember the average household’s “leaks” can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year, or the amount needed to wash 270 loads of laundry. There are several things you can do to make certain you do not receive this letter.

1. Check your sprinkler system to see if it needs to be repaired. Please physically check your sprinklers and make certain all heads are in working order and not watering the neighbor’s yard or the street.
2. Place a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color shows up in the bowl within 15 minutes with-out flushing, you have a leak. Make sure to flush immediately after this experiment to avoid staining the tank.
3. Keep your home leak-free by repairing dripping faucets, toilet flappers, and showerheads. In most cases, fixtures replacement parts don’t require a major investment.
4. Don’t leave water running while you brush your teeth or shave.
5. Don’t use water to do what can be done with a broom. Cleaning the driveway and sidewalk with a broom rather than a hose does the same thing, and usually takes less time.
6. Keeping your yard green does not require that sprinkler to run for hours on end or daily for that matter. You just need 1″ a week for a healthy lawn. Irrigate your lawn deeply and infrequently. Turn off the system if we have had 1″ of rain that week.
7. Wash only full loads of clothes.
8. Install rain barrels or harvest rainwater for outdoor irrigation.
9. Run your dishwasher with full loads only.
10. Take shorter showers.

Basically, you don’t want to be on this list. Yes everyone for years has thought that water was always going to flow out of the faucet with just a simple twist of your hand. Luckily we are not living in California and yes we have had a wonderful, wet winter but we still need to always be mindful of our natural resources. We are just now experiencing a recovery from some of the worst droughts in Texas.