Florida Water Submetering: Costly Leaks Stopped and Usage Way Down

Overview

This case study focuses on a 12 unit condominium community in Florida where the board was footing the water bill and hoping nothing went wrong between city reads.

A board member at the property is responsible for pulling the numbers and preparing quarterly bills. When he started digging into water use across a similar 12 unit project he managed, he saw a serious problem: a 12,000 gallon per month leak and obvious water waste from things like open faucets.

He went online, found SimpleSUB, and installed submeters. The results were clear enough that he brought the same approach to his own condo community. Since then, water usage has dropped, leaks are caught quickly, and one running toilet alone avoided about 70,000 gallons of waste and an estimated 2,100 dollar hit for a single owner.

“I went online and I found you guys… I love your product. Very, very happy.”

Table of Contents

Customer Profile

• Customer: 12 unit condo association (name withheld)
  
• Location: Florida
  
• Property Type: Condominium community
  
• Units / Meters Installed: 12
  
• Interviewee: Board member and billing coordinator
  

The Problem: Shared Bills, Hidden Waste

Before submetering, the condo association was master-metered. The city sent one bill and the association split it out quarterly. The board member had to assemble the numbers by hand, then divide the total cost among the units.

There was no way to see how much each unit was using or to tell who might have a leak. Residents could leave faucets open or toilets running and the cost would quietly roll into a shared bill for everyone. In a high-cost water market like Florida, one unseen leak could run for weeks and create a painful surprise at the next billing cycle.

The lack of data also made conversations with owners harder. If a bill spiked, there was no unit-level evidence that usage was actually higher, only a city meter read and a spreadsheet. That opened the door to disputes and defensiveness any time costs went up.

The Solution: Smart Submeters With High Usage Alerts

Looking for a way to get control of water usage and billing, the board member searched online and found SimpleSUB.

He was looking for three things:

1. A way to see usage at the unit level
   
2. Alerts when something looked abnormal
   
3. A system that would keep working long after installation
   
   

SimpleSUB’s over-the-pipe submeters and monitoring platform provided all three. The system tracks water usage for each unit and sends email alerts when there is continuous or unusually high flow.

That alerting proved its value when one owner left town for a couple of months and a cleaning crew unknowingly caused a problem. A cleaning person dropped a tablet into the toilet tank that kept the flapper from sealing. The toilet started running continuously.

SimpleSUB detected the constant flow and generated a high usage alert. The board member reached out to the owner, who initially did not believe there could be an issue because the unit was supposedly empty. After another alert the following day, the data made it clear that something was wrong inside the unit.

Using SimpleSUB’s readings, he calculated that the toilet was using about 1.6 gallons per minute, or roughly 70,000 gallons over a month. At local water rates, that would have translated to about 2,100 dollars in charges for that single unit. The alert allowed them to fix the issue before the bill came due.

“Your product caught the flaw… absolutely a great product, and it made me look like a hero around this place.”

Why SimpleSUB Worked For This Condo Association

The experience at this Florida condo community highlights how a relatively small property can still benefit from smart submetering when water is expensive and accountability is shared. Several elements made SimpleSUB a strong fit.

First, unit-level visibility replaced guesswork. Instead of relying on one city meter, the board can see exactly how much water each unit is using and compare the sum of all submeters with the city meter. That makes it easier to spot leaks, reconcile anomalies, and fairly allocate costs.

Second, high usage and leak alerts turned water management from reactive to proactive. The system’s email alerts flag abnormal patterns quickly, including continuous flow from a running toilet or pipe leak. That alerting prevented an estimated 70,000 gallons of waste and a 2,100 dollar bill in one unit alone.

Third, the system has proven reliable over the long term, which matters to small associations that do not have staff to babysit new technology. The board member has used SimpleSUB for more than a year and a half and continues to rely on it for quarterly billing and leak detection.

“It’s good a year and a half later, that’s when you know, does the product work, is it reliable, do I have a support staff that I can call and correct or check… I can’t say enough.”

Finally, support is available when needed, but the system is stable enough that support calls are rare. He appreciates that pricing has remained consistent, that the platform does what it promises, and that he can get help when he needs it.

Results: Usage Down, Costs Recovered, Less Stress

Since installing SimpleSUB submeters, the condo association has seen a clear shift in how water is used and managed.

Water usage across the 12 units has dropped significantly. Residents know usage is monitored at the unit level, which discourages wasteful behaviors like leaving faucets open or ignoring slow leaks. The board member reports a noticeable reduction in overall consumption compared to the period before submetering.

A single running toilet that would have used roughly 70,000 gallons in a month was found and fixed because of a high usage alert. That event alone likely prevented around 2,100 dollars in charges for the owner and avoided friction with the rest of the association.

Billing conversations have become more straightforward. With unit-level data, the board can show owners exactly how much water they used during a billing period, which reduces skepticism and arguments around quarterly invoices. Instead of defending a mysterious spike on a shared bill, the board presents clear, meter-based evidence.

The property’s outside manager, who works with multiple communities across Florida, has also become a supporter of the approach and is starting to recommend similar solutions to other associations in his portfolio.

The net effect is lower usage, fewer surprises, and more confidence that the association is paying for real consumption rather than hidden leaks.

See What You Are Really Paying For

If you manage condos, HOAs, or multifamily properties on a master meter, you may be absorbing costs that should be allocated to individual units, and you may not see leaks until they have already created large bills.

Smart submetering gives you the data to:

• Spot leaks and abnormal usage before they turn into multi-thousand dollar charge
  
• Recover water costs fairly based on actual unit-level consumption
  
• Reduce waste and protect the long term value and performance of your property
  
  

Request a free usage and billing audit to find out:

• How much of your water spend you can recover
  
• How much you can improve NOI by shifting utility costs off your P&L
  
• How much risk you can remove by catching leaks early
  
  

Schedule a demo today to see what SimpleSUB Water can do for your properties.

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