MCFARLAND, Calif. (KGET) — Manuela De Leon was stunned when she opened her mail and saw her water bill nearly multiply seven times a few weeks ago.

“My water bill came down to 732 dollars per month which is ridiculous. I’ve been in this town almost 55 years and I had never gotten a bill this high,” said De Leon, a McFarland city resident.

The city of McFarland owns, operates and maintains the domestic water system within the city.

De Leon went to city hall to demand answers.

There, she found dozens of other people who were flabbergasted by the sudden increase in price.

“My water bill cost increased over 200 dollars,” said Jesus Murguia, another McFarland resident.

Murguia says he usually pays around $90 per month for his water bill. His last bill was $289 dollars.

According to the census bureau, McFarland has a median income of $38,000, thus, the increase in water bills hits especially hard.

“Groceries. And the prices have increased so much,” said DeLeon, as she expressed it will be impossible to buy the essentials.

According to McFarland city manager, Kenneth Williams, the huge increase was necessary to fix a clerical error by a city employee.

“During the six months, they weren’t reading the meters and recording them correctly, so after a six month period they were read correctly by different employees,” said Williams. “And once we say that, that’s when the true correct readings came to place, and with that came some higher water bills.”

Wiliams added that the city is giving residents six months to a year to pay what’s owed. In De Leon’s case, she also received an adjustment of over 400 dollars. However, she said this is simply still not enough.

“It’s not our problem. Figure out how they’re going to do it. But don’t depend on the city people to pay whatever mistakes they make. It’s their mistake not ours.”