[Southern California Permaculture] It's National Fix a Leak Week - 1 trillion gallons of wasted water every year

[Margie Bushman, Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

It's National 
<https://www3.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/fix_a_leak.html>Fix a Leak Week!

Minor household leaks account for more than 1 
trillion gallons of wasted water every year in the U.S. -
  that's enough water to fill Lake Cachuma more than 15 times!

Find and fix leaks today. Click below to learn 
how to read your water meter, check for 
irrigation leaks, and test your toilets for 
silent leaks, which can waste up to 200 gallons of water every day!

To schedule a free Water Checkup, call the Water 
Conservation  Hotline: (805) 564-5460



Water Meters:

    * Watch your water meter to find a leak. See 
these 
<http://civicaweb.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/resources/conservation/leakchk/meter.asp>step-by-step 
instructions for reading your meter.
    * 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elU2QCjCPqg>Video: 
How to Read Your Water Meter


Checking for leaks inside your home:

    * Check your toilets - 20% of all toilets 
leak, often silently or at night. Follow these 
<http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/resources/conservation/leakchk/chtoilet.asp>directions 
to check your toilet for leaks.
    * Look for drips - faucets, fixtures, hoses 
and plumbing in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and appliances.
    * Water softeners can malfunction - Check the 
salt reservoir. Increased salt use correlates to 
increased water usage, and may indicate a change 
in the regeneration schedule or malfunction.
    * Water heaters – these leaks are usually 
quite obvious and you will discover substantial 
amounts of water on the floor around your heater. 
Normally, the first sign of a heater problem is 
water dripping from the bottom of the jacket. 
This indicates that the tank has corroded through.
    * On-demand water heaters - leaks in an 
on-demand hot water system are likely to occur at 
the connections to the pump, which is typically 
placed under the sink located furthest from the 
hot water heater. Check for leaks around the pump 
as you would around any standard plumbing 
connections. Look for puddles of water under the 
sink and inspect the pipe connections to ensure that they are dry.
    * 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3TAq4Q8ub8>Video: 
How to Find and Repair Toilet Leaks




Checking your irrigation system for leaks:

    * Observe irrigation in use – look for broken 
sprinkler heads, missing emitters, cut drip 
lines, and saturated areas. Check your irrigation 
schedule (length of time, number of days and stations).
    * 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njDNm-lXl_Y&list=TLG4sRUMy8b7_Je92SYDqW7z20XMSqC2T_>Video: 
How to Check your Sprinklers for Leaks
    * 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IxtZfFa6rI&list=TLG4sRUMy8b7_Je92SYDqW7z20XMSqC2T_>Video: 
How to Check your Drip System for Leaks
    * Change your irrigation controller’s back-up 
battery – the battery in your irrigation 
controller ensures that your irrigation 
controller will keep your watering schedule 
during a power outage. If the battery is dead and 
the power goes out, irrigation controllers return 
to the default mode (usually 15 minutes, every 
station, every day at night), doubling your water bill.
    * Irrigation valve box can leak - listen for 
the sound of running water at the pressure 
regulator where the water line comes into the house.
    * Look for drips at all outside plumbing and irrigation.
    * Pools - place a bucket on the top step of 
the pool and fill it with water to the pool's 
water level. After a day, if the water level in 
the pool is lower than the bucket, there probably 
is a leak in the pool structure or plumbing system.



<http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=19452>Printable 
Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Check for Leaks on Your Property


<http://www.h2ouse.org/action/details/action_elements.cfm?actionID=F56F50F2-34E3-4095-9A919C304D945B5F>More 
Information on Leak Detection

http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/resources/conservation/leakchk/default.asp?utm_source=PublicWorks&utm_medium=Leaks&utm_campaign=QuickLinks






Santa Babara Permaculture Network Logo

(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie at sbpermaculture.org
http://www.sbpermaculture.org

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

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