Leaky toilets and faucets can waste hundreds of gallons of water each day, and that means paying for unnecessary water and sewer charges. For example, did you know:
- A 1/8-inch hole in a metal pipe, at 40 psi (pounds per square inch), leaks 2,500 gallons of water every 24 hours.
- A leak the size of a pinhead can waste 360,000 gallons a year, enough to fill 12,000 bathtubs to the overflow mark. For example, a leaking toilet can use 90,000 gallons of water in 30 days.
- A dripping faucet/hose bibb can lose up to 180 gallons a month, or 2,160 gallons per year.
- About 1 in every 20 pools has a leak.
- About 1 in every 318 homes or buildings has a leak.
To help you identify and repair any leaks in your home, try these tricks:
- Watch your water meter. Make sure no water is running in the house, then observe your water meter. If you see the meter’s readout increasing and/or a dial spinning, you may have a leak.
- Check all your faucets and irrigation system. Examine all the faucets in your bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room and outside the house. Worn washers are the biggest cause of faucet leaks. If you have an irrigation system, check it for leaks as well.
- Inspect the water level in your toilet tank. The correct water line is about one inch below the top of the overflow pipe. If it is higher, water is being wasted.
- Replace your toilet’s flapper valve. Check toilets for silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank after it has filled. If coloring shows up in the bowl without flushing, you probably have a leak in or around the flapper valve. Replacing the flapper valve is an easy and inexpensive repair, watch this video from the EPA to see how!
OUC is here to help you save this precious resource. Below are water conservation programs and rebates you can take part in:
- Water usage alerts. Located in your myOUC online account, is your usage dashboard which provides insight into your daily water consumption. Through your dashboard you can enable alerts to notify you via email if there is a spike in your water consumption which can be a sign of a leak. To learn more about your usage dashboard, click here.
- FREE water conservation audit. OUC customers can request a free home water audit where our trained conservation specialists will perform a walk-through of your home and identify potential opportunities to reduce your water consumption. Click here to schedule an audit.
- Smart water monitoring device rebate. Track your water conservation 24/7 with a smart water monitoring device with some of these devices providing the ability to shut off your water remotely with a smart water monitoring device. OUC offers a rebate up to $100. For eligible devices and how to apply, visit ouc.com/rebates.
Each March, OUC partners with EPA WaterSense to raise awareness of the trillion of gallons of water loss annually nationwide during Fix a Leak Week. For more ways to find and fix leaks, visit the EPA’s Fix a Leak Week website.