Seattle · Everett · Portland · Fort Lauderdale · Miami · St. Petersburg · Phoenix · Tucson · Evansville · Knoxville
In Seattle and Portland, water and sewer now cost more than $30 per 1,000 gallons; in Everett it's about $29, and Fort Lauderdale apartments pay about $27 above the first tier. AQUEES helps owners and condominium associations in high-cost markets put a meter on each unit, bill each household for its own use and cut consumption. We coordinate with your preferred plumber, who installs the meters; we read every unit monthly and handle the billing.
On one meter, the owner or the association pays for every running toilet and long shower in the building. A meter on each unit puts each household's use on its own bill.
St. Petersburg raised water 7.5% and sewer 6.5% on October 1, Fort Lauderdale's FY2027 rates took effect the same day, and Seattle's adopted rate path raises sewer another 5% in January.
When residents pay for their own water, consumption typically falls about 15%, according to a national study sponsored by the U.S. EPA. Every gallon saved is saved at today's high rates.
We read every unit each month, so a stuck flapper or a hidden leak shows up at the next read instead of on next year's budget.
| Market | Utility | Water + sewer per 1,000 gallons | Per apartment per month | Per year, 20-unit building |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | Seattle Public Utilities | $34.83 | about $121 | about $28,900 |
| Portland, OR | Portland Water Bureau + Environmental Services | $30.85 | about $107 | about $25,600 |
| Everett, WA | City of Everett | $28.84 | about $100 | about $23,900 |
| Evansville, IN | Evansville Water and Sewer Utility | about $22.78 | about $79 | about $18,900 |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | City of Fort Lauderdale | $19.94 (multifamily; $26.96 above the first tier) | about $69 | about $16,600 |
| St. Petersburg, FL | City of St. Petersburg | $19.06 | about $66 | about $15,800 |
| Miami-Dade, FL | Miami-Dade Water and Sewer | $19.03 above the base allowance | see note | see note |
| Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) | $15.57 average ($21.32 above the first 200 cu ft) | about $54 | about $12,900 |
| Phoenix, AZ | City of Phoenix | $12.65 | about $44 | about $10,500 |
| Tucson, AZ | Tucson Water + Pima County | about $12.06 | about $42 | about $10,000 |
Usage charges for one apartment using 3,460 gallons a month; fixed meter charges, stormwater and taxes come on top. Rates in effect October 2026. Fort Lauderdale is the multifamily average (tiers scale with the number of units). Miami-Dade bills the first 300 cubic feet per unit in the fixed charge, so its usage rate applies above that allowance. Knoxville is KUB's residential schedule; master-metered buildings on the nonresidential schedules pay about $24–26 per 1,000 gallons. Phoenix is a master-metered building with sewer billed on winter use. The Evansville sewer rate is from the latest schedule we could find. Your building's bill will differ. Sources below.
A meter on each unit, so each household pays for the water it uses.
Once every unit is metered, we use the data to cut use where it pays back fastest.
AQUEES has run water-saving programs with dozens of condominiums in Washington, DC, including toilet replacements co-funded with the condo board, faucet aerators and showerheads.
| State | What the rules say | How AQUEES applies it |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | A.R.S. § 33-1314.01 lets owners bill residents from submeters, or by a ratio formula, when the lease lists the utilities, the billing method and the administrative fee. Residents pay the provider's cost plus an administrative fee limited to the actual cost of billing, on itemized bills that show meter readings. Existing tenancies can switch only if the lease allows it, with at least 90 days' notice. | We meter each unit, so bills follow actual use, show the readings and carry only your disclosed fee. We help with lease language and the 90-day notice. |
| Washington | There is no statewide submetering statute; billing residents for water rests on the lease under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW 59.18). In Seattle, SMC chapter 7.25 covers buildings with three or more units: a written allocation method, the code and recent building bills available to residents, service charges of no more than $2 per utility and $5 a month in total, capped late fees, and resident totals that can't exceed the building's bill. | Seattle bills follow SMC 7.25, with meter readings on every bill. Elsewhere in Washington, your lease sets the terms. |
| Oregon | ORS 90.315(4) lets a landlord pass through water and sewer charges when the written lease provides for it, at the cost billed by the provider. The landlord must explain how charges are allocated, bill within 30 days and give at least 30 days to pay. No billing, meter-reading or other fee may be added to the resident's charge. | Residents pay only their share of the utility bill, based on their meter. AQUEES's fee is paid by the owner. |
| Indiana | Under IC 8-1-2-1.2 and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission's rules (170 IAC 15), a landlord that bills residents at cost isn't treated as a utility, and the Commission calls submetering the preferred method. Resident totals can't exceed what the landlord paid; the administrative fee is capped at $4 a month; no late fees; at least 17 days to pay. | Unit bills use your utility's rates plus a fee within the $4 cap, with no late fees. |
| Tennessee | There is no specific submetering statute; billing rests on the lease. In 2018 the Tennessee Public Utility Commission deleted the sentence in its rules that barred submetering by customers of investor-owned utilities and stated that submetering entities aren't public utilities. City utilities such as KUB set their own resale rules. | We check your utility's rules and your leases before billing starts. |
| Florida | Under F.S. § 367.022(9), in counties where the Public Service Commission regulates water (its chart lists Broward and Pinellas), an owner who resells water to residents for no more than the actual purchase price, plus actual meter-reading and billing costs of up to 9%, is exempt from PSC regulation. In Miami-Dade, which is not on that list, the lease and county rules govern. | Unit bills pass through the utility's rates, with any billing charge kept within the cost limits that apply in your county. |
General information, not legal advice. Checked October 20, 2026. Local utilities and cities can add their own requirements; we review them with you before billing starts.
Send recent water bills, plans and the unit count. No site visit needed. We show what each unit would be billed and what the building would recover and save.
We coordinate with your preferred plumber, who reviews the plan and installs the meters, under the permit. AQUEES does not send its own crew.
We read every unit each month and prepare unit water bills under your state's and city's rules.
Leak and high-use alerts, monthly reports, and a water-savings plan for the units that use the most.
AQUEES is expanding into markets where water costs stand out or the rules make submetering straightforward. Because we coordinate with your preferred plumber, who installs the meters, we can support a building in these markets from the first month.
Not listed? If your water and sewer bill is high, send it to us and we'll tell you whether submetering pays in your city.
Yes. We coordinate with your preferred plumber, who installs the meters we specify, and we read every unit monthly and handle the billing ourselves. That lets us support buildings in Seattle, Portland, South Florida, Arizona and other high-cost markets, backed by 100+ properties and 1,000+ units in the Mid-Atlantic region since 2010.
In the states on this page, yes, with different rules. Arizona and Indiana have statutes written for it; Florida exempts at-cost resale from Public Service Commission regulation in the counties it regulates; Washington, Oregon and Tennessee rely on the lease, with Seattle and Oregon adding their own billing rules. See the table above, and we review the rules for your building before billing starts.
It depends on the state. Arizona allows a disclosed fee limited to the actual cost of billing; Indiana caps it at $4 a month; Seattle caps service charges at $2 per utility and $5 a month in total; Oregon allows no fee on the resident's charge. In Florida's PSC-regulated counties, billing costs are limited to actual cost, up to 9%.
Once each unit has its own meter, residents see and pay for their own use, which typically cuts consumption by about 15%. Monthly reads also flag running toilets and hidden leaks. We then target the units that use the most with efficient toilets, faucet aerators and showerheads, often co-funded with the owner or the condominium board.
Usually, yes. Whether an association can bill each owner for their own water depends on its declaration and bylaws and on state condominium law. We review your documents with the board before billing starts.
We give a fixed quote after reviewing your water bills, plans and unit count, and we show the expected recovery and water savings for your building from its own bills.
Send us a recent water bill and your unit count. We reply within one business day.
Or call 202-681-3558
We serve DC, MD, VA, DE, PA and NC, and support owners in other high-cost markets. See also: Washington, DC · Maryland · Virginia · Pennsylvania · Delaware · North Carolina
