A staggering $450 water bill left one Milliken, Colorado, resident wondering which household expense his family would have to skip in order to pay it.
With many area residents experiencing similar increases, a number of them blamed recently installed smart meters. However, town officials pointed to a different culprit.
Here's what to know
In June, Milliken replaced its aging water meters, according to KUNC News.
While many locals have blamed the new smart meters for recent increases in their water bills, Milliken officials attributed the higher bills primarily to a 35% water rate increase intended to fund infrastructure and water treatment upgrades. They said years of postponing smaller increases had left the town's water system facing a potential financial crisis by 2027, per KUNC.
Trustee Mindy Wakeman noted that initial projections called for increases of 50% or 75%, which she described as a "gut punch." Wakeman explained that water-fund revenue was reserved solely for water infrastructure and would not be spent on roads or other town expenses. The rate increase also was not used to pay for the new meters.
Still, KUNC News received reports from dozens of residents whose bills had doubled or tripled, well above the 35% rate increase cited by officials.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
More background
Milliken resident Derek Lucero's July bill was around $200 for 8,000 gallons, while his August statement showed more than 23,000 gallons and a $450 charge.
Lucero could not explain the nearly three-fold increase in water use. He found no leaks at his property, and he said his household's water use was unchanged. Lucero said that he had spoken to neighbors who reported having similar experiences.
Wakeman, the trustee, said extreme summer drought and increased lawn watering compounded the rate hike, leading to a huge spike in some residents' bills.
For Lucero, he worried lawn-maintenance rules from his homeowners association could result in fines and other penalties after he stopped running his sprinklers.
Other residents have also stopped watering their yards altogether.
"My front and back yards are dead…it's nothing but weeds," said Cindy Long, a Milliken resident, per KUNC. "We literally lost $2,000 worth of sod that we put in two and a half, three years ago. Everybody feels like it's shady. We all feel that way."
What's being done?
Milliken officials acknowledged that communication during the smart-meter rollout had fallen short. While a small number of the steel-covered meters experienced data transmission problems, officials said the issue affected only about 50 accounts, or 2% of bills.
Despite these glitches, town administrator Greg Brinck said field testing and calibration checks had found no meters to be out of compliance.
As for Lucero, the massive jump in his water bill turned out to be due, at least in part, to his being underbilled the previous month as the utility transitioned from the old system to the new one. Mostly, he just wished officials had identified the problem sooner.
"There was nobody on that was really like, 'Hey, you know, we've noticed this,'" Lucero said, according to KUNC. "We're bearing the burden of making our voices heard and bringing it to their attention to fix."
Where can I learn more?
Residents in other communities have also questioned sharp increases in their water bills.
• In Odessa, Texas, hundreds said new water meters quadrupled their bills as officials fought refunds.
• Louisiana's Jefferson Parish planned to test smart water meters after residents reported soaring bills.
• In Kechi, Kansas, officials sought an independent billing probe after 28 residents challenged charges.
• In Gilbert, Arizona, council members blamed alleged irrigation sabotage for $1,000 water bills.
• Texas lawmakers wanted a water utility probe after residents logged 496 water bills.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
