Marlene Feist, Utilities Strategic Development Director, No Phone Number Available
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 10:50 a.m.
A leaky faucet or showerhead that drips at a rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water a year. That's enough for more than 180, 5-minute showers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Association estimates that household leaks—like that drippy showerhead—waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water every year. To draw attention to the problem, EPA is hosting Fix-A-Leak Week, March 14 to 20, to encourage people to seek out leaks in their homes and fix them.
In Spokane, the City's Water Department is offering customers free indoor leak repair kits during March as part of that effort and its overall work to encourage people to “Slow the Flow” of water. Citizens can pick up a kit at the My Spokane customer service desk on the first floor of City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The Water Department says that common types of home leaks include worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and leaking valves. The free Leak Kit has some great items to help—from tablets that help you spot a leaky toilet flapper to plumbers tape to a bag that can take up room in your toilet tank so you use less water with each flush.
Using less water translates into lower monthly utility bills and protection of our water resources.
The City of Spokane has committed to helping “Slow the Flow” of water. Our citizens have responded over the years to requests to use water wisely.
Our water use has consistently gone done over the last 20 years even as population has grown. Much of the gains have come from building standards that have called for more efficient fixtures and appliances that use far less water. Proper maintenance of indoor plumbing and outdoor irrigation systems also can make a big difference.
At the City, we're taking a closer look at our own water use, too. We know we have very inefficient irrigation systems in many of our parks, and we are working to correct that. Last year, the City upgraded systems in Corbin and Franklin parks. We're also aggressively tackling leaks in our water distribution system.
Protecting our water supplies is important, and we can all do our part.
