“A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” ~ Unknown

Quotes from the Porter MUD Board of Directors -

Shouldn't your [technical] requirements have a basis in engineering? - "No!"  Click here to listen

"Commercial, it's six inch, whether it's necessary or not."  Click here to listen

Do you not see that it results in unnecessary costs? "It's what we require."  Click here to listen 

Have you encountered Porter MUD's horrible customer service, unreasonable demands, or other problems?

Have you been hit with a "capacity fee," a "feasibility study" charge, a "drawing review" fee, or other potentially unnecessary charges for a small commercial development.  Is a service connection taking an unreasonably long time?  Were you required to install a six inch sanitary tap for a small commercial building?  Do you have evidence of inappropriate Porter MUD behavior, incompetence, or corruption?

Reach out to us at portermudsucks@gmail.com

In confidence, unless you prefer otherwise

Share your story and we will, at your request, post it here

How This Site Began

Requiring a six inch sanitary tap for a 1600 square foot building is crazy

In efforts to convert a 1600 square foot building from residential to commercial, we encountered a ridiculous and unreasonable demand to replace the perfectly good four inch sanitary tap with a six inch tap.   This ridiculous requirement is unsupported by their own engineers.  Total costs to replace the perfectly operational, four inch tap with a six inch tap are over $10,000.  A reasonable question is WHY would Porter MUD require a sanitary tap large enough to accommodate an apartment complex or even a hospital, for a small building ?   To avoid all doubt, any future expansion would require a building permit, the corresponding engineering, and approval from all the regulatory bodies, including sewer.

We are unable to identify a city, municipality, or utility district with a similar policy

There appears to be a hole in Texas legislation

One might conclude that a MUD (municipal utility district) is prevented from setting requirements without a qualified engineering basis.  Apparently, a MUD is outside the jurisdiction of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Surveyors (TBPELS).  The Porter MUD board of directors are laymen, lacking the necessary engineering qualifications.  A MUD is free to set any over design requirement, in any circumstance, beyond any engineering basis.  This is an invitation for abuse, where the only recourse, beyond public outcry, is to succumb to their demands or provide the necessary ingratiation, avoiding any sort of criticism.  In the case of Porter MUD, the commercial ratepayer is reduced to a serf, groveling to the sewer lords for a basic utility.  Certainly surprising to discover this most business unfriendly environment in Texas

Update February 18, 2025

On this date Porter MUD formally adopted a most extreme policy

ALL commercial establishments are now required to have a six inch sanitary tap.  Now, a commercial building with one sink and one toilet is required to comply with this ridiculous requirement.  Anyone converting a residence into a commercial property, no matter how small, is required to spend over $10,000 to replace a perfectly good sanitary tap.  The response to this by the Porter MUD directors -

•  "whether it's necessary or not"

•  "it's what we require"

•  "it doesn't matter"

• "it doesn't make any difference"

And the response to the question - Shouldn't your requirements have a basis in engineering? - "No"

Check back for updates regarding this specific battle

Lack of a legislated guardrail allows for extreme and unsupportable requirements, leaving public outcry as the remaining escalation path

The Porter MUD Board Needs to Be Replaced

They are supposed to serve the ratepayers

• The concept of customer service looks to be lost.  They seem to deal with commercial customers, exhibiting an attititude of power and arrogance.  [These are of course, opinions.]

• Unreasonable requirements for unknown and curious reasons costing customers many thousands

• Refusal to supply basic information; Blatant violations of the the Public Information Act

• Who knows what else they are up to?  The intentional withholding of information naturally creates suspicion.

Board Expiration Dates

The Entrenched Sewer Lords Need to GO

• R. Wayne Curry, President, Term Expires: May 2028
  Wayne "Six inch tap" Curry apparently thought the International Plumbing Code (IPC) is exclusive to New York State, based on a mocking statement made at the November 2024 meeting

• Val Ray Bankston, III, Vice-President, Term Expires: May 2026

• Mary E. (Beth) Hebert, Secretary, Term Expires: May 2028

• Michael Zientek, Director, Term Expires: May 2026

• Lynn E. (Ed) Rhodes, Director, Term Expires: May 2028