GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily) — Some Gilbert residents say their water bills have suddenly surged by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars, despite no change in their usage.

Nancy Stipp told Arizona’s Family she was stunned when her monthly bill 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

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