Water Leaks

  • Walk through your house and listen for running toilets and look for drippy faucets
  • To tell if your toilet has a leak, place a drop of food coloring in the tank. If the color shows in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak.
  • Check your winter water use. It’s likely a family of four has a serious leak if winter water use exceeds 36,000 gallons per quarter.
  • If you are unsure whether you have a leak, read your water meter before and after a 2-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes, you probably have a leak.
What You Can Do
  • Replace products in your home with WaterSense-labeled plumbing fixtures. Environmental Protection Agency estimates a family of four can save more than $90 per year in reduced water and sewer utility bills by replacing older toilets (1994 or earlier) with WaterSense models. Products bearing the WaterSense label:
    • Perform as well or better than their less efficient counterparts
    • Are 20% more water efficient than average products in that category
    • Realize water savings on a national level
    • Provide measurable water savings results
    • Achieve water efficiency through several technology options
    • Are effectively differentiated by the WaterSense label
    • Obtain independent, 3rd-party certification
  • Grab a wrench or contact your favorite handy person to address leaking toilets, faucets, and other plumbing fixtures around your home. A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of 1 drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year. That’s enough water to flush a WaterSense labeled toiled for 6 months.