‘No, no ...’: Homeowner wants answers after water bill goes up nearly $2,000

GILBERT, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — Some Arizona residents say their water bills have suddenly surged by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars, despite not changing their usage.

Homeowner Nancy Stipp says she was stunned when her monthly bill recently jumped from about $270 to more than $2,600.

“Oh my gosh, everyone is complaining,” Stipp said. “That’s a 1,000% increase.”

The Stipps said the spike came after the town replaced its water meter and billing system last month. Their usage, they say, hasn’t changed — but the numbers on the bill tell a different story.

“It’s still very consistent all the way down until we changed out the meter,” Stipp said. “That last one was 40,000 gallons, and this month is 292,000 gallons.”

That’s an increase of more than 250,000 gallons — the equivalent of filling 12 backyard swimming pools in just one month.

“No, no, it’s just the two of us,” Stipp said.

When she went to the town of Gilbert for answers, officials told her the new meters are reading correctly and confirmed she was billed for more than 290,000 gallons of water.

Stipp disagrees.

“The culprit, I believe, is their computer system,” she said.

A Gilbert spokesperson previously said that some residents might be seeing higher charges because of a new billing system that adds any unpaid balances to the current bill.

But Stipp says that explanation doesn’t apply to her.

“I call total bologna on that,” she said. “I pay every month and on time.”

She believes she’s not alone.

“There are thousands of people in Gilbert who are over the hedge about this,” Stipp said.

The town of Gilbert is standing by its numbers, saying the bills are accurate.

Arizona’s Family said it has requested an interview with the town’s water department regarding the situation.