I have heard several anecdotal reports of people's water bills rising sharply, with no associated rise in consumption. My own water bill went up last month by 150% (to 250%), though my consumption didn't rise significantly if at all and I have no water leaks (the meter is stationary when all taps are turned off). Any other comments?

what did the water company say?

Good luck with this one, took us 4 long years of contesting our water bills before we actually got action and the bills were dramatically lowered. The standard answer given is that you have a leak in your pipes....I believe that they have a bunch of cheap-ass meters that go out of calibration on a regular basis, we had our meter changed (finally).. the bill went from 400-600 dollars per month to 100-150 dollars per month. No rebate offered.

They change my Water Meters every year on the Vacation Rental as the bill is high for ten months of the year then slow season kicks in and for two months it reads close to zero so they assume the meter has gone bad and come and change it, like clockwork.