The city of Apopka has cut in half the number of estimated water bills it is sending out and aims to further cut the number to single digits.  

The city had 31% of its water bills estimated in October 2024, but that number had dropped to 16% last month, according to city interim administrator Radley Williams, who spoke at the Oct. 1 City Council meeting.  

According to Williams, the city is aiming to reduce the number of estimated water billing even further, to 12% (3,487 estimated water bills) by the end of this year, then down to 8% (2,325 estimated water bills) by March 2026.  

The city’s long-term goal is to reach a national average of 5% estimated water bills or better, according to Williams.  

“We obviously want to be 5% or better because that’ll give us the opportunity to make sure the corrections are made within the month before the bill cycle hits,” he said.  

Mayor Bryan Nelson praised the efforts of Williams, finance director Blanche Sherman, city engineer/public works director Vladimir Simonovski and utilities operations director Glen Brooks and their teams for making progress in water billing accuracy. 

“I think we’re going to see some major results,” Nelson said. “Basically, it’s water that we’re delivering but not charging for. So, I think we’re going to see a real impact on the amount of water that’s being charged versus water that’s just going unbilled.”  

Estimated water billing happens when a reading can’t be done on a meter for reasons such as inclement weather or a malfunctioning meter, so a previous actual reading is used to calculate the current bill.