As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ongoing We’re for Water campaign, this year’s Fix a Leak Week encourages Americans to help put a stop to the more than 1 trillion gallons of water wasted from household leaks each year.
Sponsored by EPA’s WaterSense® program, this year’s Fix a Leak Week is March 12 through 18. In support of We’re for Water, the Virginia Beach Department of Public Utilities is encouraging customers to find and fix leaks in their homes.
“Leaks can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water in an average home every year—enough water to wash nearly 10 months worth of laundry,” said Tiffany Wright, Public Information Officer for the Department of Public Utilities. “As a WaterSense partner, we are encouraging consumers to find and fix leaks to save water in our community.”
To help save water for future generations, the Department of Public Utilities is asking consumers to check, twist, and replace:
- Check for leaks. One of the most common places to find a leak is your toilet. A leaky toilet can waste over 200 gallons of water per day. Find out if you have a leaky toilet by placing a few drops of food coloring into the tank. If the coloring appears in the bowl after a few minutes, you have a leak. Don’t have any food coloring handy? No problem! You can pick up some free leak detector tablets at the Public Utilities Business Office (Municipal Center, Building 2, 2nd Floor).
- Twist and tighten pipe connections. To save more water without a noticeable difference in flow, twist on a WaterSense labeled faucet aerator.
- Replace the fixture, if necessary. Look for WaterSense labeled models, which are independently certified to use 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than standard models.In many cases, fixture replacement parts pay for themselves quickly and can be installed by handy do-it-yourselfers or local plumbing professionals.
WaterSense also partners with certified landscape professionals who can check irrigation systems for leaks. Visit www.epa.gov/watersense to find WaterSense labeled products or an irrigation partner in your area.
For more information on Fix a Leak Week, visit www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/fix_a_leak.html or contact Tiffany Wright with Virginia Beach Public Utilities at (757) 385-4948.
WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services. Since the program's inception in 2006, WaterSense has helped consumers save 125 billion gallons of water and $2 billion in water and energy bills. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.
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