U.S. EPA’s “Fix a Leak Week” Promoted in San Francisco and Sonoma, March 17-23

EPA Press Release:

For Immediate Release:  March 17, 2014

Contact: David Yogi, yogi.david@epa.gov, 415-972-3350

                                     

U.S. EPA’s “Fix a Leak Week” Promoted in San Francisco and Sonoma, March 17-23

SAN FRANCISCO—As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, the 2014 Fix a Leak Week campaign encourages Americans to help put a stop to the more than 1 trillion gallons of water wasted from household leaks each year.

In support, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is promoting finding and fixing residential leaks through multilingual (Spanish, English and Chinese) ads encouraging residents to repair plumbing and conserve water.

In Santa Rosa, the city’s Water-Use Efficiency Team and the Sonoma-Marin Water Savings Partnership has teamed up and is kicking off Fix a Leak week event on March 18 at the third annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K run. In addition, Fix a Leak Week will be featured at the Sonoma Home and Garden Show at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds from March 14 through the 16^th.

“During a time of severe drought, finding ways to conserve our precious water is everyone’s responsibility,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Household leaks in California account for 124 billion gallons of water wasted each year, more than can be stored in San Francisco’s Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.”

To help save water for future generations, we are asking consumers to check, twist, and replace:

• 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, waiting 10 minutes; if color appears in the bowl before you flush, there is a leak. Don’t forget to check irrigation systems and spigots too.
• Twist and tighten hose and pipe connections.
• 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 and, to save water without a noticeable difference in flow in your bathroom, install WaterSense labeled faucet aerator.

In many cases, high efficiency fixtures pay for themselves quickly and can be installed by handy do-it-yourselfers or local plumbing professionals. Irrigation professionals certified through a WaterSense labeled program can also check your systems for leaks. Visit www.epa.gov/watersense to find WaterSense labeled products or an auditor in your area.

On January 17 Governor Brown declared a drought state of emergency. Water supplies remain far below normal despite recent rain and snowfall. If everyone does their part to conserve water in their daily lives, we can save millions of gallons of pure water that are now wasted. The cheapest source of new water is to use the water we already have more wisely.

For more information on Fix a Leak Week, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.

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