(Atlanta, March 16, 2017) – Drip. Drip. Drip. That’s the sound of water – and money – going down the drain. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, an average household wastes 10,000 gallons of water each year.
Fix a Leak Week, March 20 – 26, aims to motivate residents to find and fix those leaks. Sponsored by the EPA’s WaterSense® program, the week-long education event encourages residents across the country to do their part to put a stop to the more than one trillion gallons of water lost every year from leaks in the home.
The fifth annual Water Drop Dash 5K kicks off Fix a Leak Week in north Georgia. Organized by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (Metro Water District) and local water utilities, the race takes place Saturday, March 18, at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell. The scenic, fast and flat course is a Peachtree qualifier. Online registration for the race is closed, but runners can still register at the Marietta location of Big Peach Running Co. until 6 p.m. Friday and at the race entrance beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday.
Race day activities will also include a Kid’s Fun Run with water mascots and a Family Water Festival that features games, crafts, face painting and water-saving giveaways. Participants can learn how to check their plumbing fixtures for leaks and pick up some water-saving tips, too.
“Leaks found inside and outside your home can waste a lot of water and money,” said Dallas Mayor Boyd Austin, chair of the Metro Water District. “Fix a Leak Week is a great way to promote water conservation and help us save water in and around our homes.”
Throughout the week, the Metro Water District will share water-saving tips and encourage homeowners to find and fix leaks in their household plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems.
The most important tip to remember for Fix a Leak Week is check, twist and replace:
- CHECK for leaks. Look for dripping faucets, showerheads, sprinklers and other fixtures. Check toilets for silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring into the tank and waiting 10 minutes to see if color appears in the bowl before you flush. If you see color, you’ve got a leak. Check outdoor irrigation systems and spigots, too.
- TWIST on a new aerator. To use less water without a noticeable difference in flow, install a WaterSense labeled aerator on your bathroom faucet. Make sure to tighten hose and pipe connections, too.
- REPLACE the fixture if necessary. An old or worn–out rubber flapper is a common reason why toilets leak, and replacing one can be easy. Just bring the old flapper to the home improvement store for comparison when purchasing a new one and follow an online tutorial or the directions of your local hardware store retailer to replace it. If you are replacing leaky faucets or showerheads, be sure to purchase WaterSense labeled models, which are independently certified to use 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than standard models.
For more tips on how to conserve water, visit www.mydropcounts.org.
For more information on the Water Drop Dash 5K, visit www.waterdropdash.com.
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