News Release from EPA - WaterSense Fix a Leak

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless housing in Thornton gets water-saving makeover during EPA’s ‘Fix a Leak’ Week

Delta Faucet Co. and Bell Plumbing & Heating provide water-saving retrofits at 180 units

Contacts: EPA – Lisa McClain-Vanderpool (303)501-4027; Sylvia Bienzle (303) 312-6923; Delta – Clint Wasson (303)289-4191 x22; Bell Plumbing & Heating – Larry Bell (303)757-5661

(Denver, Colo – Mar. 14, 2012) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined Delta Faucet Co., and Bell Plumbing & Heating to provide Renaissance 88 Apartments, a Colorado Coalition for the Homeless apartment building in Thornton, Colo. with a water-saving makeover. The retrofits and leak repairs taken at the apartment complex will save 560,000 gallons of water per year, enough to fill fifty backyard swimming pools.

Over the period of a week, Bell Plumbing & Heating will replace inefficient water fixtures in 180 apartment units at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless facility with EPA WaterSense-labeled products provided by Delta Faucet Company. These products include faucet aerators and showerheads.

Today’s event is part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation and EPA’s WaterSense program during Fix a Leak Week. EPA is joining Delta Faucet Company --the WaterSense 2011 Manufacturer Partner of the Year- GreenPlumbers USA, the United Way, Ronald McDonald House, and various local water utilities and governments, to fix leaks in more than 1,000 low-income households and community facilities in nine cities across the country including Thornton, Colo.

“Across the country, household leaks add up to more than 1 trillion gallons of water annually. The amount we’re losing could supply Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami for a full year,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re not just losing water, we’re also losing the money our communities put into keeping our water clean and healthy. That’s why Fix a Leak Week is so important, and why we encourage everyone to take a few simple steps that can add up to have a significant positive impact.”

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 more than $2 billion in water and energy bills. Consumers can find WaterSense-labeled products at thousands of retail locations across the country.

For more information about finding and fixing leaks: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/fixaleak

For more information on WaterSense or to find a retailer in your area that carries WaterSense-labeled products: http://www.epa.gov/watersense