Water Conservation

Information on 2012 Rain Barrel Sales now available.

Every time you turn on your faucet or take a shower it is easy to forget the steps and processes in place to deliver safe, clean drinking water to your home.

To make sure there is the same accessibility to fresh water resources in the future, we need to make water conservation an important part of our daily lives today.

Household Leaks

Small drips from faucets or showerheads, and slow leaks from running toilets can add up to significant volumes of wasted water. Did you know that in one year, a faucet left running at one drip per second can waste 10,000 litres of water? That’s enough water to fill 50 baths or flush the toilet over 2,000 times!

Over time, seals on fixtures such as faucets and toilets deteriorate, resulting in wasteful water loss. Become a leak detective with the following simple steps:

Test for running toilets. Identify toilet leaks by putting a drop of food colouring in the toilet tank. If any colour shows up in the bowl after 20 to 30 minutes, there is a leak from the tank (be sure to flush immediately to avoid staining the bowl). Deteriorating toilet flappers are a major cause of running toilets. Check with your local plumbing supply store to ensure you replace the flapper with one specifically designed for your toilet.
Check pipe connections. Examine faucet gaskets and pipe fittings such as showerhead connections for any water on the outside of the pipe. As this may indicate a leak. You may want to contact a plumber to undertake repairs.
Replace the fixture if necessary. Look for the WaterSense^® logo to be assured you are using the most water efficient fixtures available. Check to see if you are eligible for a rebate through Halton’s Toilet Rebate Program.
Inspect outdoor faucets and in-ground irrigation systems. Each spring, check outdoor faucets and connections for drips, and automatic irrigation systems for leaks before use, to make sure they have not been damaged by frost or freezing. Ensure automatic irrigation systems will not come on when it rains.

For more tips on fixing leaks, visit http://www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/fix_a_leak.html .