Title: EPA Encourages Americans to Save Water During Fix a Leak Week
Author: Richard Yost
Publication: United States Environmental Protection Agency
Date: 3-11-11
Link: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/AD97428925DDE4AA85257850006379B8
Summary: The EPA is promoting their third annual Fix a Leak Week, March 14 through 20. Across the country, household leaks waste over 1 trillion gallons of water per year. That is enough to support Chicago, Miami and Los Angles combined. Water leaks are easy and efficient to fix and you can save a lot of money and water in the end. If a family of four's water usage exceeded 12,000 gallons per month this winter, it is suggested they might have a water leak. Some ways to fix a leak and participate in the event, is to check for leaks by dropping some food coloring droplets in your toilet tank and flushing it to see if it appears in the bowl. Also, you can go to every pipe and make sure it’s on tight enough. Since this program started it saved more than 46 billion gallons of water and $343 million in water and sewer bills.
Opinion: I think this is great. It is really spreading awareness to homeowners that leaks can happen and are wasting water. I also think this will help a lot of people with water shortages. If the water is not wasted, then we will be able to use it later. I hope that this year will be very successful in helping our country save money and water.
Graphic: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.friendlyplumber.com/images/repairing_leaky_pipes/pipe_leak.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.friendlyplumber.com/plumbing101/how_tos/how_to_repair_leaky_pipes.html&usg=__UHYuGME8hCvV3ls0mUGjILkMzaM=&h=201&w=191&sz=9&hl=en&start=0&sig2=5LsgpVBQ4trHcKtNsIbK7w&zoom=1&tbnid=g6EwVyqjO-ujvM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=105&ei=NJN6TfGUA8yw0QGv1dHrAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dleaky%2Bpipes%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1010%26bih%3D535%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=696&vpy=250&dur=5211&hovh=160&hovw=152&tx=54&ty=89&oei=NJN6TfGUA8yw0QGv1dHrAw&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0
This picture shows a way on how to fix a leaky pipe. Just glue a rubber strip to the puncture and tighten a clamp around the side of the pipe. Of course I'm no plumber, but it seems to me what is happening.
Questions:
1) Will you help out your self with bills and help out the earth with water by checking your pipes this Monday?
2) What’s another thing we can do to contribute to the event?
3) Is this an effective way of dealing with water leaks?
4) What is your opinion on the idea of having a week to do this? Or should you always be checking your pipes?
5) Name other ways water could be wasted every day other than leaks.
Wow I think that this is a very interesting article!I never knew that the EPA had a week for this. I think that it is a simple way to save water and money! I think that the EPA should make commercials for this because it is not very well advertised, and if it was I feel like many more people would check their pipes. This ties into my life because a few years ago we had a leak from the pipes of a sink in my house. Luckily my dad noticed early, and he fixed the pipe, but if he didn't this week could have helped us notice our leak. I hope that more people take notice in this week and check their pipes to save water!
ReplyDeleteExpansion:http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/plumbing/how-to-fix-pipes1.htm
This article goes into detail on how people can fix their pipes. I think that this article could be very useful.
Answers to Questions:
1)I will try to check my pipes this monday!
2)I think that we could make flyers or signs that inform people about this event.
3)I think that this is an effective way of dealing with our leaks because it can stop our leaks, save water, and save money.
4)I think that a week to do this is good, but we should also periodically check our pipes.
5)Long showers and leaving water on while brushing teeth.
New Question:
1)What percent of Americans have leaking pipes?
2)How much water comes out of leaking pipes?
3)Do you think that people check their pipes?
This is a very good idea that can be very helpful to people who do not think about checking their pipes for a leak. The EPA needs to make more advertisements about this because before I read the summary about it I had no idea that they did something like this. I thought it was very interesting to see that by starting this event 46 billion gallons of water has been saved and $343 million in water and sewer bills. This number could increase if the EPA made more announcements about this through the TV or radio. My family does check our pipes annually because in the past we have had leaks so we do not want to have more. The pipes in our basement used to leak and water was everywhere. Then we had a pipe break underground in our backyard which needed to be fixed because water was not getting to where it was suppose to be. It is very important to keep your pipes.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Questions:
1) Yes I will check my pipes this monday.
2) The EPA could send out an email to the people in the community to check their pipes.
3) Yes, this is a very affective way to deal with water leaks because it can save the amount of water being used and make people realize that things like this can happen.
4) This is a very good idea to have a week like this because people get so caught up in their lives that something like checking your pipies doesn't always come to mind.
5) Long showers,running water when brushing your teeth, and leaving the hose water running when no one is using it.
Questions:
1) Do you think that a good amount of people that see this imformation accually go home and check their pipes?
2) What would you do yourself to spread the word and tell more people about this event?
3) How many people have had leaking pipes and have not realized it until a while later?
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteThat is very cool, Charles, how you found out about it, and it's happening right now! This was a pretty cool article. You never realize how important it is to turn off the sink after you brush your teeth in the morning. Sometimes when I go in the bathroom at school, I see a leaky sink. Sometimes I turned it off, and other times I just kind of ignored it. Now I will definitely know to turn it off. It's also crazy to think about the amount of water we're wasting. For enough in Chicago, LA, and Miami combined could give like half of Africa water, and they have so little. We should really be doing something about this, and I'm glad the EPA is having this week.
Answers to Questions:
1) Hmmm maybe. I probably won't, because I barely know where my pipes are, but I could ask my dad to check it out.
2) We could also do other things (not just leaky water) to help conserve water. Shorter showers, turning off the sink while brushing our teeth, stuff like that.
3) I don't think it is very effective. I don't think that many people will hear about it, and if they do, I doubt a lot of people will care.
4) It's good that they are doing a week to do this. I don't think anyone's going to wake up in the morning and think "Oh I need to check my pipes today!" So if they spread the word, this week could be pretty effective.
5) Flushing toilets too much, taking long showers, letting the sink run while we brush our teeth, pouring water for ourselves and not drinking it
Questions I ask:
1) Does the EPA have this event every year? How long has it been going on?
2) Are there ever going to be laws against leaky water?
I never knew that there was a Fix a Leak Week. However, it has raised my awareness and hopefully others how important it is to protect and make sure our pipes are secure. If we have leaks from all our homes, imagine the consequences on the environment and the amount of water we are losing. Household leaks are also very expensive and can be costly for homeowners. However, there are certain things you can do to prevent leaks, such as checking for leaks and tightening and securing pipes. Overall, I thought it was great that the EPA has a week like this so that people all over know the consequences of household leaks and how simple it is to prevent them.
ReplyDeleteExpansion: http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pubs/fixleak.html This is a good link showing the statistics on leaks and where they can be found.
Questions Answers:
(Answer to #4): I think it is great that they are having a week like this. By raising awareness of the problems that these leaks present, hopefully people will look at their pipes more closely if they are not already doing so. I do not think that people should be checking their pipes every day for leaks, but at least every 2 weeks or so to ensure that they are not leaking any water.
3 Questions:
1. What are some of the common reasons as to why there are household leaks?
2. What are some ways to fix and end household leaks?
3. What happens to the water that is leaked out of the homes?