A new case study from the University of Wisconsin's James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, produced in partnership with the Multifamily Impact Council, quantifies how Dominium cut water consumption by roughly 41 percent across more than 40,000 affordable homes in 19 states. Working with ION Water's sensor-based leak detection platform, the partnership translated unit-level water management into an estimated $12 million in annual savings.
Key Findings
The Graaskamp Center's analysis modeled the financial and risk implications of unit-level water monitoring across Dominium's affordable housing portfolio. Specifically, the Graaskamp Center research found that:
- Unit-level sensors paired with ION Water's platform enabled real-time leak detection across scattered-site and campus-style affordable properties alike.
- Fifteen-year net present value modeling showed positive returns across discount rates ranging from 3 to 15 percent, indicating resilience under a wide range of capital cost assumptions.
- Three-bedroom units delivered the strongest returns, with ROI multiples approaching 5x over the modeled holding period.
- The Graaskamp Center frames unit-level leak detection as a risk-management tool that protects net operating income and debt capacity, particularly where rent restrictions limit an owner's ability to pass utility costs to residents.
Methodology and Context
The Graaskamp Center applied the Multifamily Impact Framework to an anonymized portfolio of Dominium affordable housing properties, drawing on unit-level consumption and leak-event data collected through the ION Water platform. The analysis paired that operational data with discounted cash flow modeling to translate water savings into property-level financial outcomes across a range of unit types and capital cost scenarios.
The full report, Water Efficiency as a Competitive Advantage: Dominium and ION: A Partnership in Affordable Housing, was published by the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate in August 2026.
