City of Mercedes Utilities Department / Utility Billing
Mercedes
Population reference
Approximately 17,500 residents served by the City of Mercedes municipal water and wastewater system; operations and maintenance are supported by USW Utility Group under City oversight.
Billing detail
Broad public detail found
Official destination
Open provider website ↗Provider-specific findings
Billing and account research from public material
Provider-specific research notes are displayed separately from fields that contain only an unavailable-information marker. Read qualifiers in each note and verify current account terms with the provider.
- Billing frequency
- Monthly; the Mercedes utility-rate ordinance defines monthly water and wastewater rates and monthly metered consumption.
- Rate structure
- Fixed monthly base charge plus volumetric metered consumption, with annual schedule adjustments. For residential inside-city service effective 10/1/2026, the 5/8- or 3/4-inch minimum is $27.82 and the published consumption schedule includes $2.33 per thousand gallons through the initial blocks and $2.48 per thousand gallons for 5,002–9,999 gallons, with additional blocks above that.
- Residential cost reference
- Using the 10/1/2026 inside-city residential schedule, the 5/8- or 3/4-inch water minimum is $27.82 and residential wastewater is $35.00 plus $1.38 per thousand gallons. The complete tiered water calculation depends on the ordinance block boundaries; a 5,000–7,000-gallon combined subtotal is therefore approximately $65–$85 before firefighting, refuse, brush, and other charges.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- Residential inside-city wastewater is based on monthly metered water consumption, with a $35.00 minimum effective 10/1/2026 and $1.38 per thousand gallons above the minimum. For properties served by private wells but connected to City sewer, the code uses a flat equivalent of the residential base plus the rate for 6,000 gallons; commercial well lots use the equivalent of 10,000 gallons.
- Meter reading
- The ordinance bases charges on monthly metered consumption, but the current City pages do not identify AMI/AMR equipment, vendor, remote transmission interval, or route-reading dates. USW Utility Group supports operations and maintenance of lift stations, distribution pumps, and water towers under City oversight.
- New-account deposit
- For new residential accounts, the City requires a $100 homeowner deposit or $250 renter deposit plus a $10 service fee. Commercial service requires a $500 deposit plus the $10 service fee. The City may also charge a meter, tap, and water-rights fee where a property has never had service; the ordinance states deposits are returned at account closure after the final bill is fully paid.
- Activation or transfer fee
- The standard new-service administrative fee is $10. Requests received after 3:00 p.m. may be processed the following business day; if faucets or appliances are left on, the City will not activate service until a second attempt is scheduled. New premises may also require water-meter, tap, and water-rights charges.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
Texas
68%
records with any overview detail
National index
50%
records with any overview detail
Coverage measures what this directory documented. It does not measure service quality, affordability, or regulatory compliance.
Research record
Broad public detail found
7 of 7 fields in this section contain provider-specific public detail in dataset August 1, 2026.
Documented
100%
Primary verification routes
- City of Mercedes Utilities Department / Utility Billing public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System ↗
Federal background on public water-system records and their limitations.