$1M Water Damage Disaster Dodged at LA Skyscraper Complex

October 20, 2023
A smart phone shows a graph of water use with an overlaid SMS that says "Leak Alert AHU above unit 32 at Luxury Apt. Bldg." In the background, there is a futuristic skyscraper.

The AlertAQ™ water intelligence platform helped a facility management team prevent catastrophic water damage at a 1-million square-foot luxury apartment building located in the Downtown Los Angeles area.

The leak alert came in around 1 a.m. By the time we got to the property the water had already gone down to the lower units. It definitely would have been a lot worse without AlertAQ™ since the water wasn't noticed by the residents. There's no tellling how long it would have taken them to notice the presence of water. AlertAQ™ definitely saved us from greater damage.

– Maintenance supervisor, Luxury Apartment Building

Water Leak Detection System

The lavish multi-family building with over 400 apartments features retail space on the ground level, onsite gym and well-appointed penthouse suites. These high-value assets require cutting-edge protection from water damage in the form of the AlertAQ™ and Alert Labs smart water sensors.

Condensate leak from AHU

During a hot and humid summer night on July 26th, the condensate drain pan in one of the air handler units (AHU) above a penthouse on the 32nd floor began to overflow. Unnoticed by the buildings’ residents, the large volume of water traveled down ten stories to the 22nd floor. Immediately after water touched the Alert Labs water leak sensors, the maintenance supervisor for the building received an automated phone call from AlertAQ™ at 1:04 a.m., detailing the location of the water leak.

Despite a delay in arriving onsite, the supervisor was able to substantially mitigate the damage by unclogging the condensate drain pan, stopping the source of the water. If not for AlertAQ™ and the response from the maintenance supervisor, the AHU leak would have caused severe damage to more than 10 luxury apartment units.

The AlertAQ™ platform sends text messages and automated phone calls to alert facility teams of potential water damage events.

Over $1,000,000 Saved

Given that the building is Class A, and equipped with high-end amenities and bespoke finishes, it is likely that without AlertAQ™, repair costs would have topped a million dollars. Not only did AlertAQ™ help mitigate water loss for the insurer of the luxury apartment, the building residents were spared the inconvenience of repairs and the facility management team avoided costs not covered by the insurance policy, such as the deductible or more stringent terms & conditions upon policy renewal.

Reducing water loss claims

The building in this success story is one of many insured by a national insurance carrier working with Alert Labs to improve their water loss prevention strategy. To date, the insurance carrier has saved over $80M in averted water damage losses.

Start managing water smarter across your portfolio. Get a tour of AlertAQ™ today.