COURTESY OF RIVERSIDE NEWS FLASH
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), household leaks can waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water annually nationwide. That’s the equivalent of the annual household water use of more than 11 million homes.
To encourage the public to reduce the amount of water leaked at their homes, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) has joined the U.S. EPA and other water partners to promote Fix a Leak Week March 17 through March 23.
The majority of leaks can be eliminated by retrofitting old household appliances with new WaterSense labeled fixtures and other high-efficiency appliances. In fact, if one in every 10 American homes were to upgrade all bathroom appliances with WaterSense-labeled fixtures, about 74 billion gallons of water and about $1.6 billion could be saved on utility bills annually nationwide.
Common types of leaks found in the home include leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves, all of which can be easily fixed.
Making your home leak-free requires repairing dripping faucets, toilet valves, and showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts don’t require a major investment and can be installed by the homeowner.
More information about the MWRD can be found at www.mwrd.org or by following the MWRD at www.facebook.com/metropolitanwaterreclamationdistrict andwww.twitter.com/mwrdgc.
More information about Fix a Leak Week can be found at www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/fix_a_leak.html.
