Payment channels

Pay City of Houston Houston Public Works – Utility Billing

Use the provider’s verified online, telephone, mail, or counter instructions. Check the final confirmation screen for the amount, processing date, and any transaction fee before submitting.

Primary online route

Use the official payment portal

The direct portal is the fastest route when it is available. The provider identifies its payment gateway as A dedicated this detail was not publicly posted. The current City of Houston utility portal does not identify the underlying payment gateway vendor by name.. Never enter account credentials into a lookalike site reached through an unsolicited message.

Open payment portal ↗

Telephone payment

Phone IVR

A dedicated this detail was not publicly posted. The current 2026 Houston Public Works pages publish 713-371-1400 for Utility Billing and account/payment assistance, available Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m., but do not identify a separately dedicated IVR number. Older City instructions referenced a check-by-phone number, so customers should use the current official portal or confirm the IVR through 713-371-1400 before relying on an older number.

Have your account number and payment instrument ready. Follow the provider’s recorded prompts and retain the confirmation number.

Alternative channels

Mail, text, and in-person payment instructions

Pay by text

A dedicated this detail was not publicly posted. The current Houston Water Bills portal and Houston Public Works billing page provide online account payment, direct debit/autopay, e-billing, usage alerts, and customer-service appointments, but do not publish an SMS short code, keyword, text-to-pay enrollment page, or opt-in sequence.

Mail-in address

Houston Public Works Utility Billing, P.O. Box 4863, Houston, TX 77210-4863. The current Houston Public Works Utility Billing page publishes this remittance address; customers should include the payment stub or account information and use the address printed on the current statement if it differs during billing-system changes. Do not mail cash.

Counters, drop boxes, and office hours

Houston Public Works currently schedules in-person customer-service appointments at the Water Customer Service Office, 4200 Leeland Street, Houston, TX 77023, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; appointments can also be virtual and are scheduled through HoustonWaterBills.org or 713-371-1400. The current portal warns that it does not accept cash or check drop-off payments on-site and directs customers to participating Kroger, H-E-B, Fiesta, and Walmart locations for retail payments. The City’s public page does not expose a stable 2026 list of every authorized grocery counter, drop box, accepted desk instrument, or branch-level hour, so customers should verify the nearest location and whether a payment is current or delinquent before visiting.

Accepted digital instruments

What you can use online

The current online profile supports bill payment and recurring/direct-debit arrangements; the City’s published payment instructions historically identify Visa, Mastercard, and Discover credit/debit-card payments plus electronic-check/check-by-phone and bank-account autopay. The current 2026 portal does not verify Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, or other digital wallets, and customers should confirm the current card/network list at checkout.

2026 transaction pricing

Convenience fees

A dedicated this detail was not publicly posted. The accessible current 2026 Houston Water Bills portal and City fee schedule do not publish a flat online credit/debit fee, percentage surcharge, or e-check fee for ordinary residential utility payments. Any processor charge displayed at checkout should be treated as controlling for that transaction.

Fees can vary by payment type, channel, account class, and processor terms. The checkout screen is the final fee disclosure.

Payment guidance

Choose the payment channel that fits your deadline

The safest payment path is the one published by City of Houston Houston Public Works – Utility Billing and matched to the account information on your bill. Online portals are convenient, but telephone, mail, counter, and drop-box options may follow different posting schedules and may use different fees.

For a routine payment, save the final confirmation page or IVR number and check when the transaction will post. For a same-day shut-off notice, do not assume that submitting a card payment automatically stops a field order; ask the provider what amount and confirmation are required.

Never send your account number, password, card details, or bank information to Water Ledger. Those details belong only on the provider’s verified payment channel or at an authorized counter.

Return to utility profile →Review shut-off rules →