Some Gilbert residents still dealing with water bill problems
Gilbert inspecting water meters after rate hike
Gilbert residents are still sounding the alarm about large water bills in recent months, and the town is now trying to ensure new water meters are working properly, and have no leaks. FOX 10's Steve Nielsen reports.
GILBERT, Ariz. - Gilbert residents are still sounding the alarm about large water bills in recent months.
In some cases, the bills more than doubled.
Big picture view:
There are three main issues that have all converged, causing a headache for residents:
- A new billing system that rolled out with issues
- Some newly installed water meters not being properly calibrated, and;
- A large increase in rates.
The rate increase may be the biggest headache, but town officials say the hike is long overdue to pay for replacing old sewer lines, building a new water treatment facility, and address increased costs in construction and water cleaning from wildfire runoff.
Dig deeper:
This appointment has been weeks in the making. Gilbert town employees were turning the sprinklers off and on at one home in town.
Doreen Frola says she called for the town’s water efficiency check service after coming back from vacation. Despite not being home, her water bill doubled.
"I think it was $300-something to $709, and it was like ‘woah!’" Frola said.
The Gilbert team went through the irrigation system, marking inefficient sprinklers and tracking water usage for every zone, thanks in part to the new smart water meter installed.
"The objective of these is to let residents know how much water they’re using but also equally as important where it’s being used," said Gina Damato, a Gilbert water conservation specialist.
Residents have been asking for these checks a lot after bills went up during the summer, as a result of the higher rates.
"Jordan has a station running, so that indicates it’s using 8.8 gallons per minute," Damato said.
Damato said many hope the increase is because of a leak or broken meter, but often it’s not. When asked how often the water meter is the problem, she said it is, "very, very, very rare. I’ve been here just over 6 years and I can count on one hand the amount of times."
What they're saying:
Earlier this month, residents packed a town council meeting to complain about the new meters and higher rates.
"I feel like the citizens of Gilbert have been victimized because of the poor decisions that were made," one resident said.
"I have nothing but empathy. My rates went up too," said Town Councilor Kenny Buckland.
The town's mayor declined an interview, but Councilor Buckland said the rollout of a new billing system had issues, which is why they’re auditing the system.
"It’ll be transparent and we’re probably going to learn some lessons where we did things really well and probably learn some things if we could go back in time and do it over again we would," Buckland said.
A third-party audit, however, doesn’t mean rates will be lowered. He said any new meter calibration issues will be fixed and residents won’t pay for errors.
"Absolutely they’re not getting charged for that. We’re going to make it right," Buckland said.
Many residents remain outraged at bills that doubled.
"Why aren’t we inspecting all meters!" another resident said.
When asked if she was hoping to find a leak, Frola said, "Actually yes. Yea."
Frola said she had no large leak and was told the newly installed meter was working, so she’ll focus now on using less with rates increasing.
"I’m not really thrilled with that, but nobody is, so it’s OK," Frola said. "I guess it’s part of Gilbert now."
What's next:
Water rates will go up another 25% in 2026.