Sensors Save Water at Multifamily

Sensor Industries recently installed its leak detection devices and Monitoring-as-a-Service in a low-income housing project for seniors in central Los Angeles.

The Camarillo company used Internet-of-Things technology for its toilet sensors in Mac Arthur Park Tower to provide real-time feedback of leakage that can amount to 5,000 gallons of water waste per day.

“Considering the number of units at Mac Arthur Park Tower, we’ll help them save millions of gallons of water annually,” said Dave Duckwitz, chief executive of Sensor Industries.

Mac Arthur Park Tower is a 183-unit low-income housing project owned and operated by Retirement Housing Foundation, the largest provider of affordable senior housing in the United States, Sensor Industries said in a release.

The water conservation project came together through the efforts of the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit in Oakland and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a nonprofit in Portland, Ore. and was funded by members of the California Water Action Collaborative, including Target Corp., Procter & Gamble Co., Coca-Cola Co. and BlueTriton Brands, formerly Nestlé Waters North America Inc.

Additionally, the Pacific Institute helped secure rebates from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to provide additional funding.

Shannon Quinn, global water stewardship leader at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, said that the Los Angeles project demonstrates the power of partnership.

“When we use water more efficiently in cities, we can conserve both water and energy, applying these solutions to communities most in need,” Quinn said in a statement. “Multiple companies coming together can increase the pace of conserving water and energy at scale.” 

Jon Radtke, water sustainability program director for Coca-Cola’s North America operating unit, said the company was excited to be a part of the project.

“In collaboration with the other members of the California Water Action Collaborative, we see the importance of working together to achieve a shared goal for the greater good,” Radtke said in a statement. 

Sensor Industries is an Internet-of-Things company dedicated to water and energy conservation in multifamily communities and commercial properties. The company has installed more than 7,000 sensors made in Camarillo in more than 90 complexes throughout the U. S. and Canada, mostly in California. 

The success of the Mac Arthur Park Tower project resulted in three other housing projects, two in Los Angeles and one in Orange County, being fitted with Sensor Industries leak detection technology.