How Brewerytown Apartments Slashed Water Costs and Gained Tenant Accountability with SimpleSUB

Overview

Brewerytown Management, overseeing six apartment buildings in Philadelphia, was paying $300–$500 per building per month for water, all while collecting just $175 from tenants. Without submetering in place, tenants were charged a flat rate of $25/month, regardless of how much water they actually used.

In a city with some of the nation’s highest water rates, this model wasn’t sustainable. Water usage varied dramatically by tenant, leaks often went undetected, and there was no real-time insight into which units were driving costs.

To close the gap, Brewerytown turned to SimpleSUB Water, deploying clamp-on submeters across five buildings. The result: accountability, savings, and a fast return on investment.

Customer Profile

‍Property: Brewerytown Management
‍Type: Apartment buildings
‍Location: Philadelphia, PA
‍Meter Count: 45 units across 6 propertiesI
Interviewee: Kristen M., Property Manager

The Problem: Flat Fees, High Bills, and Zero Visibility

The billing structure left the property vulnerable. Toilets ran for weeks, leaks went unreported, and owners absorbed the cost. With no usage data, tenants had little incentive to conserve or report problems.

“Philly has really high water rates—$25 per unit wasn’t covering the $300–$500 per building we were getting billed.”
— Kristen M., Property Manager

Challenges included:

• Untracked water consumption and high variability between units.
• No way to detect leaks or behavioral usage spikes.
• Tenants had no accountability and no incentive to report issues.
• Flat billing left the owner covering the shortfall.
• Manual reporting processes slowed down collections and added overhead.

The Solution: Plug-and-Play Submetering With Real-Time Insight

SimpleSUB Water offered a non-invasive, quick-install alternative that integrated directly with Brewerytown’s existing property management platform.

“Now, we can identify and fix issues before they get out of hand. The savings have already justified the investment.”
— Kristen M.

In just a few weeks, submeters were installed across five buildings, without requiring plumbing modifications or tenant disruptions.

Key features included:

• Real-Time Usage Tracking: Live access to unit-level data and instant leak detection.
• Automated Tenant Reporting: Monthly usage reports delivered directly to tenants.
• Buildium Integration: Submetering charges posted automatically to lease ledgers.
• Quick Meter Swaps: Drop-in replacements minimized downtime.
• Data Exports (CSV, Excel): Easy audit trails for billing transparency.

Results: Cost Recovery, Operational Efficiency, and Higher Tenant Engagement

The benefits of deploying SimpleSUB were clear and immediate:

• 5 buildings live with submeters, reducing manual oversight.
• Avoided major overages by catching and fixing leaks early.
• Water billing now matches real usage,reducing waste and increasing fairness.
• Most tenants pay quickly after receiving usage reports.
• Admin time reduced, thanks to automation and platform ease-of-use.
• Only one meter issue reported, and resolved quickly.
• Tenants now request access to view their own usage data.

“We were constantly chasing leaks and wasting money. SimpleSUB changed that. For any property owner looking to recover costs and improve accountability, SimpleSUB’s clamp-on meters deliver quick ROI and long-term transparency without invasive installation.”
— Kristen M.

Turn Flat-Rate Losses into Fair, Recoverable Revenue

As Brewerytown’s results show, adopting SimpleSUB Water replaces guesswork with real-time unit visibility, automated tenant reporting, Buildium-integrated billing, and fast leak detection, closing the gap between $25 flat fees and $300–$500 monthly bills while cutting admin work and boosting tenant accountability. If you’re ready to align charges with actual usage and see quick ROI, schedule a demo to get a tailored walkthrough for your portfolio.

Schedule a demo

‍