More than 1 trillion gallons of water are wasted in U.S. homes each year from easy-to-fix leaks. That’s why Greeley Water Conservation Program is participating in Fix a Leak Week, March 18th through 24th, and we encourage you to join us.
Sponsored by the EPA’s WaterSense® program, Fix a Leak Week is an opportunity to improve the water efficiency of your home by finding and fixing leaks. In the average home, household leaks waste more than 10,000 gallons of water each year. That’s the amount of water needed to wash 270 loads of laundry!
Here’s how to identify leaks around your home:
Read 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.
Winter months are the prime time to check water use and see if you may have a leak. If a family of four exceeds 10,000 gallons per month in the winter, you probably have leaks!
Here’s how you can address leaks found at home:
Check for leaks. Look for dripping faucets, showerheads, sprinklers, and other fixtures. Also, check for toilets with silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring into the tank and seeing if it appears in the bowl before you flush. Don’t forget to check irrigation systems and spigots too.
Twist and tighten hose and pipe connections. To save more water without a noticeable difference in flow in your bathroom faucet, 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.
Sign Up for a free indoor audit. The City of Greeley offers water efficiency audits for Greeley water customers. Auditors will help find leaks, install new showerheads and aerators, and make other suggestions to save water.
