Water submetering lets Arlington, Texas landlords bill each tenant for the water they actually use instead of buying it for the whole building. Much of the city’s rental stock is older apartment product along Cooper Street and Division, plus duplexes and fourplexes owned by individual investors, and almost all of it runs on a single water meter per property. Fold water into the rent and the owner covers everyone’s usage. Between UT Arlington students and a workforce that moves constantly, tenants here turn over frequently, and none of them ever see what the water costs. True Submeter installs an individual water meter on each unit and bills every tenant automatically for exactly what they used. Usage drops once it carries a price, disagreements over splitting the bill end, and net operating income improves. With a rental base approaching 400,000 residents, the water is worth measuring properly.
