Mall Reduces Water Usage from 15,000 to 4,000 Gallons a Month

Overview

After decades of stable operations, a 40+ year-old commercial strip mall began experiencing sudden, unexplained spikes in water usage. Monthly consumption soared from 4,000 gallons to 15,000 gallons, and water bills jumped from $2,500 to $8,000—a 300% increase with no clear cause.

Without unit-level water meters, the property owner couldn’t identify whether the waste was due to tenant behavior or hidden infrastructure issues. Traditional in-line metering quotes came in at $50,000, making them unworkable for a budget-conscious commercial asset.

Instead, the team chose SimpleSUB Water, launching a low-cost pilot with three clamp-on meters that rapidly identified the culprits and delivered fast ROI.

Customer Profile

• Property: 40+ Year-Old Strip Mall
• Type: Commercial retail property with 20 tenants
• Location: Undisclosed
• Meter Count: Initial 3 meters, scalable across property
• Interviewee: Luis O., Rilea Group

The Problem: Water Spikes Without a Source

When water bills tripled seemingly overnight, the property team was left guessing. With no visibility into tenant usage, they had to resort to blanket emails and costly inspections.

Water usage jumped from 4,000 gallons per month to 15,000 gallons, causing bills to surge from $2,500 to $8,000.

But the communication yielded no changes, and on-site plumbing investigations only revealed minor issues, doing little to explain the surge. With twenty tenants and no submetering infrastructure, there was no way to isolate the problem or fairly assign costs.

Compounding the issue:

• Mass emails to tenants had no measurable impact.
• Plumber visits resulted in high costs but few answers.
• A $50,000 submetering proposal made upgrades seem impossible.
• The owner risked sustained overbilling and tenant disputes.

The Solution: Scalable Submetering at 1/10th the Cost

Property manager Luis O. of Rilea Group implemented SimpleSUB Water to launch a targeted pilot. The clamp-on, over-the-pipe meters were installed on key tenant lines with no pipe cutting or disruption.

From the very first installs, the platform began delivering answers:

• Live LTE monitoring provided real-time tenant-level water data.
• Leak alerts helped the team pinpoint anomalies without guesswork.
• Non-invasive installs allowed rapid deployment across additional units.
• Affordable pricing made it scalable for the full property.

“We were quoted $50,000 for a plumber to install inline meters, which was completely out of our budget. SimpleSUB’s solution cost a fraction of that—under $400 per unit with a small monthly subscription—and provided the same accurate data with much less hassle.”
— Luis O., Rilea Group

Results: Leaks Found, Usage Dropped, $100K+ Saved

Within weeks, SimpleSUB meters uncovered multiple major issues:

• A hidden restaurant leak was flagged due to nonstop water flow.
• Four additional tenant-side leaks were detected and resolved.
• A second restaurant was losing 1,500 gallons per day, which was eventually traced to a leak under concrete.

Once repaired, the mall’s water usage returned to normal, dropping from 15,000 gallons/month back to 4,000. Cost Savings were over $100,000 in avoided overcharges within eight months.

The pilot expanded quickly. The team avoided a $50,000 plumbing install, gained actionable usage data, and stopped unpredictable billing in its tracks.

“For aging commercial properties, SimpleSUB provides a practical, low-cost path to accurate monitoring, leak detection, and tenant-level billing—without the risks of traditional meters.”
— Luis O.

Stop Paying for Hidden Leaks and Unexplained Spikes

When a 40-year-old retail strip saw its water bills triple overnight, SimpleSUB Water helped uncover the problem—at one-tenth the cost of traditional metering. With clamp-on submeters, the property team identified multiple tenant-side leaks, including one wasting 1,500 gallons a day, restored usage to normal levels, and avoided more than $100,000 in overcharges within eight months. If your commercial property is facing unexplained spikes or tenant disputes, SimpleSUB delivers fast insight, leak prevention, and savings, all without cutting a single pipe.

‍Schedule a demo to see how SimpleSUB can help you.