EPA's Region 6 Office
Serving: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and 66 Tribal Nations
Saving Water
Every Drop Counts
Fix a Leak
Watersense Fix a Leak Week Activities for Region 6 March 18-24, 2013
More than 1 trillion gallons of water are wasted in U.S. homes each year from easy-to-fix leaks. That is equal to about much is used per year in the Houston, San Antoniao, and Dallas/Ft Worth areas combined. That’s why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense® program is sponsoring “Fix a Leak Week” from March 18 to 24, 2013. Watersense web site
This week is an opportunity to improve the water efficiency of your homes by checking for and fixing leaks, which waste an average of 11,000 gallons of water per home each year. That’s more than enough water to fill up a backyard swimming pool!
Here’s how to identify and address leaks around your home:
· Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you probably have a leak.
· To determine if you have a leak, now is a great time to check water usage. If a family of four exceeds 12,000 gallons per month in the winter, you probably have leaks!
· Search for toilet leaks by placing a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If any color shows up in the bowl without flushing first, you have a leak. (Be sure to flush immediately to avoid staining the tank.)
· WatreSense labeled home in the DFW area.
Fixing household leaks not only saves water but reduces water utility bills—by more than 10 percent. Be for water and start saving today with three simple steps: Check. Twist. Replace.
1. Check
First, check your home for leaks. An easy way to start is to examine your winter water use. If it exceeds 12,000 gallons per month, you probably have leaks. Walk around your home with eyes and ears open to find leaks, and don’t forget to check pipes and outdoor spigots. You can also detect silent toilet leaks, a common water-wasting culprit, by adding a few drops of food coloring to the toilet tank and waiting 10 minutes before flushing. If any color appears in the bowl during that time, your toilet has a leak.
2. Twist
Tighten your fixture connections with a firm twist using a wrench or apply pipe tape to be sure plumbing fixture connections are sealed tight. If you can’t stop those drops yourself, contact your favorite plumbing professional. For additional savings, twist a WaterSense labeled aerator onto each bathroom faucet to save water without noticing a difference in flow. Faucet aerators cost a few dollars or less and can save a household more than 500 gallons each year—enough to do 14 loads of laundry.
3. Replace
If you just can’t nip that drip, it may be time to replace the fixture. Look for WaterSense labeled products, which use at least 20 percent less water and are independently certified to perform as well or better than standard plumbing fixtures. Replacing an old, inefficient showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model will shrink your household’s water footprint by 2,300 gallons annually while still letting you shower with power, thanks to EPA’s efficiency and performance criteria. A WaterSense labeled showerhead also saves enough energy from heating less water to power a television for a year.
Fix a Leak Week is March 18 to 24, 2013. Grab a wrench or contact your favorite handy person, plumber, or WaterSense irrigation partner to address leaking toilets, faucets, and irrigation systems around your home. To learn more, visit the WaterSense Web site.