Documented Results

Partnerships measured in decades.
Savings measured in millions of litres.

Our longest-running client partnerships go back to 2007 — the year we started managing irrigation at Yorkdale Mall, RBC's Mississauga corporate campus, and Wynford Place. Below are documented case studies from those partnerships and the broader BGO portfolio.

20+ years of partnership with anchor clients
100M+ litres saved across documented projects
3 Toronto Green Awards earned with clients
4 named clients in featured studies
Clients: Bentall Kennedy · Oxford Properties · Brookfield Residential · RBC · Property types: Retail · Corporate · Multi-residential · Industrial · Featured studies: 2009 — ongoing
Case Study 01 · Retail flagship

Yorkdale Mall.

Oxford Properties Toronto, ON Since 2008
2008 Toronto Green Award City of Toronto Environmental Awards of Excellence
85% less water used to irrigate the landscape
23,367 m³ water saved (cumulative)
$42,355 cost savings (documented)
4,673 kg CO&sub2; offset

SMART partnered with Oxford Properties at Yorkdale in 2008 to take on a 15–20-year-old irrigation system that needed performance enhancements across the board — vandalism, wind loss, pipe leaks, and inefficient spray heads.

The project replaced spray nozzles with rotary nozzles, installed water meters and master valves at every point of connection, deployed two-way communication satellites for remote control, and added a weather station for ET-based scheduling. The result — this corporate retail campus running on 85% less water — was recognized with a 2008 Toronto Green Award.

Conservation solutions implemented
  • Toro Sentinel centralized control — 6 satellites · 89 zones
  • Nozzle retrofits spray → rotary heads across full site
  • Flow Sensing 4 Data Industrial meters at every connection point
  • Weather integration Irrisoft WR7 weather receiver, ET-based scheduling

Property Management brought SMART in to reduce potable water use across the Mississauga RBC corporate campus — a 56-zone landscape that was running on outdated controllers and inefficient nozzles.

SMART installed water meters and master valves at every point of connection, replaced spray nozzles with rotors, deployed Rainbird IQ two-way communication satellites for remote control, and integrated ET-based scheduling. By 2010, the campus was using 72% less water. By 2013, cumulative water savings had grown to 53,507 m³ — a partnership trajectory that continues today.

The trajectory
2008

Partnership begins

System audit, upgrade recommendations, Rainbird IQ install across 56 zones.

2010

30,000 m³ saved

72% reduction in landscape potable water use. $39,847 in documented savings.

2013

53,507 m³ saved

Cumulative savings continue to compound. CO&sub2; offset 4,815 kg. Partnership ongoing.

Conservation solutions implemented
  • Rainbird IQ centralized control — 3 satellites · 56 zones
  • Nozzle retrofits spray → Hunter MP Rotator · Rainbird Rotary
  • Flow metering sub-metered at every point of connection
  • Drip integration low-volume drip added where applicable (2013 update)
  • Master valves at every POC for leak / vandalism shutoff
  • ET & weather data remotely transmitted for adaptive scheduling
Case Study 02 · Corporate campus

RBC Towers.

Property Management · RBC Mississauga, ON Since 2008
72% less landscape potable water by 2010 — cumulative savings still growing
53,507 m³ cumulative water saved by 2013
$39,847 cost savings (2010 doc)
4,815 kg CO&sub2; offset (2013)
Case Study 03 · Multi-residential

Wynford Place.

Brookfield Residential 75 Wynford Dr · Toronto, ON Since 2008
2009 Toronto Green Award City of Toronto Environmental Awards of Excellence
76% peak annual savings achieved against the 2008 baseline
14,254 m³ cumulative water saved
$29,564 documented cost savings
2,850 kg CO&sub2; offset

In 2008, SMART performed a comprehensive assessment that revealed unaddressed pipe leaks, damaged sprinklers, a system over-pressurized by at least 50%, and an inoperative rain sensor pushing more water than the soil could absorb.

SMART deployed Rainbird IQ control, daily ET-based scheduling, MP Rotator and Rainbird Rotary nozzle retrofits, and a Data Industrial flow meter with local weather data. The property earned a 2009 Toronto Green Award the following year.

Year-by-year · against 2008 baseline
Year Water used Saved vs baseline Cost savings
2008 baseline 6,956 m³
2009 1,630 m³ 5,326 m³ (76%) $10,073
2010 2,906 m³ 4,050 m³ (58%) $8,349
2011 2,078 m³ 4,878 m³ (70%) $11,142
Conservation solutions implemented
  • Rainbird IQ 1 satellite · 7 zones · remote monitoring & control
  • Adaptive scheduling daily ET-based adjustment from local weather
  • Nozzle retrofits Hunter MP Rotator + Rainbird Rotary heads
  • Sensors on site Data Industrial water flow meter, ET data from local weather stations
Portfolio Spotlight · BGO

Six properties. One operating year.


A snapshot from the 2012 BGO portfolio — six commercial properties under SMART irrigation management at the same time, each tracked against its own baseline. The cumulative savings give a sense of what managed water looks like at portfolio scale.

Oakville, ON

Dorval Crossing · West

2012 water saved 7,248,562 L
vs. 2009 baseline 74%
Oakville, ON

Dorval Crossing · East

2012 water saved 4,095,298 L
vs. 2009 baseline 75%
Mississauga, ON

6974 Financial Dr.

2012 water saved 1,067,303 L
vs. 2009 baseline 31%
Mississauga, ON

6956 Financial Dr.

2012 water saved 56,888 L
vs. 2011 4%
Mississauga, ON

3425 Laird Rd.

Drip retrofit (1 season) 507,780 L
efficiency gain 79%
Mississauga, ON

3345 Laird Rd.

Drip retrofit (1 season) 267,750 L
efficiency gain 42%
Aggregate water savings · 2012 alone 13.2M+ litres

Across these six Bentall Kennedy properties under SMART management. The numbers shown are documented results from the same operating year — managed irrigation at portfolio scale.

Technical Detail

Drip retrofit case work.


The engineering underneath the headline numbers. Three documented zone-level drip retrofits across Bentall Kennedy properties — converted from inefficient spray heads to sub-surface drip irrigation. Flow rates, efficiency gains, and 1-season savings shown.

3345 Laird Rd. Mississauga · 2012
Zones converted Zone 1
Before 121 L/min spray heads · 50%+ wind/overspray loss
After 70 L/min sub-surface drip · 1–2% loss
267,750 L saved in 1 season
42% over standard methods
Dorval Crossing · East Oakville · 2012
Zones converted Zones 14 & 16
Before 113 L/min spray heads into narrow perennial beds
After 27 L/min sub-surface drip · ~100% to plant roots
153,520 L saved in 1 season
92% volume reduction
What was installed · standard SMART drip retrofit spec
Rainbird sub-surface drip line Installed at root level in perennial planting areas. Each planting receives water directly at the root zone.
Pressure regulation & filtration Installed at every zone valve for accurate water application and clogging prevention.
Air-relief valves Exhaust air pocket buildup that can burst infrastructure or impede water flow in low areas.
Case Study 04 · SMART + AlertAQ

750+ properties. One platform.


SMART Watering Systems × Alert Labs Documented partnership Commercial · Industrial · Office

SMART has deployed AlertAQ across 50+ commercial and residential properties to date. The platform sits underneath every IWM Full installation — tracking flow, detecting anomalies, triggering automated phone calls. Below, three documented incidents from the SMART client portfolio.


The Alert Labs solutions are not only more cost effective, but we can share access to the data with property managers we work with.

Chris Le Conte Founder & President · SMART Watering Systems
Three documented client incidents
01
Commercial · Multi-tenant building

The 4 AM glass-maker

A multi-tenant commercial property had a mysteriously high water bill that the on-site team couldn't explain. SMART installed AlertAQ and tracked the consumption profile minute-by-minute.

What we found

A tenant making glass was running water between 4 AM and 6 AM every day — outside normal operating hours, invisible to the building team, and the entire reason for the bill.

Outcome Submeters installed to attribute cost to the actual tenant. Building bill normalized.
03
Commercial · Multi-tenant w/ restaurant

The restaurant that didn't sleep

A property manager facing a surprise high water bill on a multi-tenant commercial property. SMART installed AlertAQ submeters for two dentist offices and one restaurant to attribute consumption.

What we found

The restaurant had 7 L/min of continuous water flow overnight — while the restaurant was closed and empty. A faulty appliance or fixture was running 24/7.

Outcome Faulty fixture identified and corrected. Water bill brought back to baseline.

What these three have in common: the anomaly was invisible to the property team but obvious to the platform. AlertAQ runs continuously, knows what baseline looks like, and surfaces the events humans miss.

Request a Quote

Tell us about your property.


A site visit and written quote are free across our service area. A coordinator will get back to you the same business day to confirm scope and schedule the visit.

Connect with Us

For active repairs, urgent failures, or properties needing fast turnaround — calling is the fastest way to get on the schedule.

Direct line 888.444.1530
Office hours Mon–Fri · 9am–5pm ET