More than a third of the toilets in one Chicago senior community were leaking, and no one knew. The building had been renovated just ten years earlier. Toilet leaks rarely announce themselves, though. The water runs quietly from the tank into the bowl and down the drain, day and night, and the only evidence is a water bill that is higher than it should be.
In January 2024, Next Meters partnered with UPholdings LLC, a Chicago-based property management company, to install Toilet Leak Sensors at Evergreen Towers, one of its senior community properties. The building was originally built in 1999. After installing 96 sensors, the team found and fixed more than 35 leaks, cut the monthly water bill by 43%, and reached a positive return on investment in just 3.5 months. The figures below come from the Next Meters Evergreen Towers case study.
Why 36% of the Toilets at Evergreen Towers Were Leaking
Toilets are one of the most common sources of wasted water in any building. The EPA's WaterSense program reports that the average household's leaks waste more than 9,300 gallons of water a year, and it lists worn toilet flappers among the most common types of household leaks. Multiply that across a building with dozens of units and the losses stack up quickly.
The Next Meters case study notes that the problem is especially pronounced in student and affordable housing, where the ratio of running toilets tends to be higher. In buildings with many units, a slow leak can run for months when residents do not notice it or do not think to report it.
Toilet leaks usually come from one of three causes:
A leaking flapper seal
A stuck or faulty valve
A kinked flapper chain
According to Next Meters, many monitoring products on the market only address one of these three causes. A sensor that catches a worn flapper but misses a stuck valve still leaves water running.
Evergreen Towers Results by the Numbers
| Result | Evergreen Towers |
|---|---|
| Toilet leak sensors installed | 96 |
| Leaks found and fixed | More than 35 |
| Share of toilets found leaking | 36% |
| Monthly water bill reduction | 43% |
| Total monthly gallons saved | 329,000 |
| Monthly gallons saved per toilet | 3,400+ |
| Annual savings per toilet | $435 |
| Monthly savings per leaking toilet | $100 |
| Time to positive ROI | 3.5 months |
What 329,000 Gallons a Month Looks Like on a Water Bill
The savings at Evergreen Towers came from fixing roughly three dozen toilets. Each leaking toilet was costing the property about $100 per month on its own. With more than 35 of them running, the property was losing thousands of dollars every month on water no one used.
Spread across all 96 sensors, the savings average out to more than 3,400 gallons per toilet per month and $435 per toilet per year. That per-toilet figure matters for owners weighing a rollout, because it shows the math works across the whole building, not only on the fixtures that happened to be leaking.
A 43% drop in the monthly water bill also says something about how much of the original bill was pure waste. Nearly half of what the property had been paying for was water going straight down the drain.
UPholdings Expanded to Six More Properties
The strongest signal from this case study is what UPholdings did next. After seeing the results at Evergreen Towers, the company ordered the system for six additional properties.
"We were blown away by how much we saved on water costs after trying the Next Meters Toilet Leak Monitoring System. It made such a significant impact that we've already ordered it for six more properties!"
Alexis Taylor, Operations Manager, UPholdings, LLC
How the Next Meters Toilet Leak Sensor Works
The Next Meters Toilet Leak Sensor was purpose-built for the multifamily market. According to Next Meters' most recent figures, its network includes more than 3.95 million devices across more than 28,000 properties. The sensor sends alerts and usage data to property staff so leaks get fixed quickly. According to the Evergreen Towers case study, it offers:
Installation in minutes, with full support available when needed
A property dashboard for managing notifications and alerts
Monitoring for all three common types of toilet leaks, so staff only fix what is actually broken
Full backwards compatibility, zero network downtime, and a 3-year warranty
A long-life, replaceable battery
See What Toilet Leak Monitoring Could Save Your Property
Integrity Meter supplies and installs the Next Meters Toilet Leak Sensor for apartment communities, senior and affordable housing, HOAs, and commercial properties. Learn more on the Integrity Meter toilet leak sensor page, browse the full NextCentury product lineup, or view the Toilet Leak Sensor kit directly. When you are ready to talk about your property, contact Integrity Meter to see what an installation would look like.
Frequently Asked Questions
How common are toilet leaks in senior and affordable housing?
More common than most owners expect. At Evergreen Towers, a Chicago senior community, 36% of monitored toilets were found leaking. Next Meters notes that student and affordable housing tend to have a higher ratio of running toilets than other property types.
What causes a toilet to leak?
Most toilet leaks come from one of three causes: a leaking flapper seal, a stuck or faulty valve, or a kinked flapper chain. All three let water run continuously from the tank into the bowl and down the drain, usually without any visible sign outside the fixture.
How much can fixing leaking toilets lower a water bill?
Results depend on how many toilets are leaking and how badly. At Evergreen Towers, finding and fixing more than 35 leaks cut the monthly water bill by 43% and saved 329,000 gallons per month. Each leaking toilet was costing the property about $100 per month.
How long does it take a toilet leak sensor to pay for itself?
At Evergreen Towers, UPholdings reached a positive return on investment 3.5 months after installing 96 Next Meters Toilet Leak Sensors. Properties with a higher share of leaking toilets typically see faster payback, since each leak found produces immediate monthly savings.
Does toilet leak monitoring work in hotels?
Yes. Next Meters documented results at a Motel 6 in Beaumont, Texas, and a Red Roof Inn in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, with annual savings of $42,257 and $56,607. Read the full breakdown in the hotel toilet leaks case study.
Sources
Next Meters, "Leaking Toilets, Rising Bills: The Overlooked Expense of Water Waste" Evergreen Towers case study (PDF)
U.S. EPA WaterSense, "Residential Toilets": https://www.epa.gov/watersense/residential-toilets