WATER WOES: Residents left with outrageous water bills in Tomball area

TOMBALL (KTRK) -- Rebecca Borgstedte says her water bills have been pretty consistent.

"I'm normally $100," she says.

But her last bill spiked to $372. It's just her and her three young sons in the house.

"For the water bill to jump that high is just a little bit crazy," she says.

Borgstedte had the house checked for leaks, but there was nothing. She tells abc13 she's called the city of Tomball to get someone to come out to check her meter, but got no response. The city denies that claim.

She posted her water woe to the neighborhood site Nextdoor.com and was shocked to find out she's not alone.

Gloria Phillips was one of the first to respond to her post.

"They don't have a pool. They don't have water running all the time. It's just the two of them. And their bill went from about $80 to $1,500," Phillips says.

Her grandparents get their water through Quadvest Water & Sewer Utility along with other residents in this area who are not within the city limits.

"I thought it was a typo. But we've got the same type of bill at our house too," Phillips says. "When I called the water company, they said maybe you have a pool. I said we don't. Maybe you have a sprinkler system. They don't. And they said that's just what it is."

A payment confirmation email shows they paid $125 on September 12. Two weeks later, they got an email saying they too owed $1,500. David posted to the thread on Nextdoor that he got a bill last month for $912. Debbie posted her bill was $800.

"That's not fair. So something needs to happen," says Borgstedte. "Something needs to be checked out."

"I think there's a glitch in the system. I think it's quite obvious," adds Phillips. "And I think whoever they have for the records needs to take an average until they get it fixed."

Water at Phillips' grandparents house is set for disconnection next week.

We left a message at Quadvest and emailed to find out what's going on with these bills. They did not respond in time for this story. We will let you know if and when they do.