Indiana American Water announced recently that it is partnering with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to promote Fix a Leak Week, which runs March 19-25. The national campaign, part of the EPA’s WaterSense program, raises awareness about small leaks and other water waste that might be occurring within homes. Across the U.S., EPA estimates that U.S. households waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water due to leaks and that the average household could cut 10 percent off their water bill by spending a couple of hours every few months checking for and repairing these leaks.
As a Fix a Leak Week partner, Indiana American Water is offering advice to reduce the amount of water lost to household leaks. “Even the smallest leaks can waste thousands of gallons per year, resulting in a large impact on your water bill,” said Indiana American Water President Deborah Dewey. “For the customers we serve in Indiana, up to 2.7 billion gallons of water are being lost to leaks annually. Fortunately, most common leaks can be easily corrected by maintaining and repairing fixtures and appliances on a regular basis.”
On an institutional level, Indiana American Water is committed to fixing leaks by replacing or upgrading water infrastructure in order to provide clean, safe, reliable water to customers, and has invested more than $179 million in infrastructure improvements over the past two years.
Indiana American Water has produced a helpful infographic and a downloadable leak detection kit to assist customers in locating and fixing common, and some not-so-common, indoor and outdoor water leaks.
Indiana American Water conducts ongoing customer education about wise water use to help preserve water supplies and recommends using the following tips to address costly household leaks:
- While not using any water, check your water meter before and after a two-hour period. If the meter registers any changes during this time, you most likely have a leak.
- Regularly check your toilet, faucets, and pipes for leaks. If you find a leak, have it fixed as soon as possible.
- Reduce faucet leaks by checking faucet washers and gaskets for wear and replace them, or, if necessary, replace the faucet with a WaterSense-labeled model.
- Leaky toilets are most often the result of a worn toilet flapper. Replacing the rubber flapper is a quick fix that could save a home up to 200 gallons of water per day.
- For a leaky garden hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.
- Check your garden and lawn irrigation system for leaks, or hire a certified WaterSense expert to check it for you.
- If you notice a soft, wet spot on your lawn or hear water running outside the house, the service line to your house may be leaking.
- Consider installing water and energy-efficient appliances. The EPA reports that certified Energy Star washing machines use up to 35 percent less water per load. Water-saving shower heads, toilets and faucet aerators also help cut your water usage.
