Fix a Leak This Week and Every Week
By Warren Tenney
The most important action you can take as a residential water consumer is to maintain a water-efficient home. By doing so you minimize water use, conserve energy and reduce your water and sewer costs. When it comes to saving water, even small steps can have a big impact, but sometimes it’s hard to know exactly where to start.
Locally, there are multiple resources to help be more efficient and fix those leaks. The Valley cities have worked hard to provide those resources to their residents and have professional staff available to offer advice and insight into the simple process to find and fix a leak.
A key resource is the Smart Home Water Guide website, which was created by the ten AMWUA cities’ water conservation professionals. These experts translated their experience, knowledge, and methods into short and clearly illustrated lessons anyone can understand to help fix leaks and save water. The Smart Home Water Guide is a mobile-friendly website that walks you through the step-by-step process of tracking down leaks using the isolation method and provides links to helpful DIY repair videos.
The valuable information on the Smart Home Water Guide website is also available in Spanish on the Guia Para Detectar Fugas website. Both websites show homeowners how to find leaks inside and outside - and how even the least talented do-it-yourselfers can utilize the methods highlighted to better understand exactly how simple it can be to fix leaks.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense Program, homes across the country waste a startling amount of drinking water. The average household’s leaks can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year. Ten percent of homes have leaks that add up to 90 gallons or more per day. Over a year, those leaks can waste nearly 1 trillion gallons nationwide – as much as the annual water use of nearly 11 million homes. In 2009 the EPA developed the Fix a Leak Week public awareness campaign to encourage homeowners to find and fix leaks in their homes and yards.
As we celebrate Fix a Leak Week, it reminds us about the importance of fixing those minor drips so why not replace that washer on a leaky faucet or leaking valve on a running toilet, invest in new sprinkler heads or replace cracked drip lines. Reducing leaks, whether in expansive water distribution systems or our homes, saves money and preserves water for the future.
While we have a strong water conservation ethic here in the Valley of the Sun, we can all use a friendly reminder to check for leaks and learn new ways to save water and Fix A Leak A Week seems like a perfect time to do so.
The colorful Smart Home Water Guide website and companion booklet are hosted by the AMWUA #SmartPig. A sister website in Spanish is available at www.guiaparadetectarfugas.org, and the printed booklet is available for free in both English and Spanish from your city's water conservation department.
For over 50 years, Arizona Municipal Water Users Association has worked to protect our member cities’ ability to provide assured, safe and sustainable water supplies to their communities. For more water information visit www.amwua.org.
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