Overview

As discussed in previous case studies, water bills are often given very little attention due to the fact that they are usually a much lower cost than other utilities such as electricity. For that reason, issues can go unnoticed for a long period of time, especially when the issue is “hidden”. After all, the saying still rings true:”Out of sight, out of mind.”

Issue

One of our clients, who has chosen to have us manage their water utility bills, ran into a situation where they had noticed some water pooling on the floor of the garbage room at one of their locations. After having it investigated, they were told that it was due to spring defrost. They therefore just mopped up the water assuming that this issue would go away on its own. As most of you know, issues hardly ever just disappear on their own. Through our auditing procedures, we noticed at the same time, an increase in water consumption.

Action Taken

  1. Once the increase in water consumption was noticed, the store was contacted in order to
    investigate the situation.
  2. The store scheduled for a plumber to come and verify the issue in the garbage room again.
  3. A leak was found on the faucet of the sink in that room and was replaced.
  4. We monitored the account for 3 months to verify that the water consumption was back to normal.

Results of Investigation

As a result of the investigation that we conducted for this high water consumption case, our client was able to schedule a technician to go and verify where the water was coming from. Once the issue was located, the necessary repairs were made and the consumption reduced back to its normal level. The increase was calculated at 80 cubic meters per month which means an additional cost of $200.00. As they had been misled by the first service call, without Powerhouse monitoring the consumption, our client could have kept overpaying for their water bills.

Conclusion

Sometimes, issues can be noticed at the store level quickly and the store places a service call to investigate the issue. However, sometimes the real problem can be hidden and the service technician might miss it completely. As seen in this case, had the water consumption not been monitored, the water bills would just have kept getting processed and paid until the new consumption became the new “normal”. At a cost of $200/month, we helped our client reach an annual cost avoidance of $2,400.00 Now imagine if multiple locations found themselves in a similar situation. Could your money be leaking away slowly? Contact us and let Powerhouse help you regain peace of mind.

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