Are your apartments wasting water?

Water and wastewater have become significant and increasing expenses for multifamily owners. In response to their rising water and wastewater cost, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority completed a study in 2021 focused on per bedroom usage.

Based on 50 properties, their conclusions were that 75% of the properties used more water per bedroom than is deemed efficient (less than 55 gallons per day) and 68% used more than the Connecticut average for comparable properties.

At Connecticut water and wastewater rates, the 64 gal/bdrm/day average costs $234 per year (at Northern California rates, the cost would be $788 per year).

The study also highlighted two high usage examples:

• A 280-bedroom complex in Fairfield was using $33,726/yr over the CT average 

• A 50-bedroom complex in Norwich was using $3,468/yr over the CT average

In a smaller, but comparable study, NOWi monitors have been tracking water usage at 8 multifamily properties in New London, CT since July of 2020. The average per bedroom usage over a 35-day period this summer was 43 gal/bdrm/day, well below the CT average for similar properties of 64 gal/bdrm/day. At CT water rates, the difference amounts to $610 for a 10-bedroom property per year.

Leaks were detected at three of these properties when the NOWi monitors were installed. Over the last two years, many additional leaks have been detected including leaks from toilet flapper valves, stuck toilet handles, malfunctioning appliances, ruptured hot water heaters, tub faucets, and malicious acts. NOWi’s monitoring system quickly detected all the leaks.  A typical example was an open toilet flapper valve leaking 85 gal/hr which costs $114 per week.

Over the last two years, the owner used NOWi texts and daily reports to motivate his property manager to identify leaks early and to correct recurring problems through preventative maintenance. 

Multifamily water monitoring using NOWi’s systems is inexpensive, quick, and easy to implement. Eliminating just one open flapper valve flowing for a month will pay for the system. 

See for yourself how NOWi can help your properties lower water and wastewater bills. 

Set up a demo to discuss a risk-free trial!

Link to study