It’s National Fix a Leak Week

The Environmental Protection Agency is promoting its annual Fix a Leak Week. This year, it’s Mar. 18 through Mar. 24.

“The average household’s leaks can account for nearly 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year, and 10 percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day,” according to the EPA, which also notes that “fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners about 10 percent on their water bills.”

Tracy Queen, a Louisville Water Customer Service Representative, said many of the calls Louisville Water receives are from customers who have a bill that’s higher than usual because of a leak.

Often, these customers aren’t aware of the leak, Queen said, and Louisville Water’s representatives will guide them through the process of trying to find it.

“First, we advise them to check their toilet,” she said, “and we explain how to perform a toilet leak test because leaks in the toilet are fairly common and can go undetected.”

Step-by-step instructions and a video that shows how to perform the test is linked on this page, above. This webpage also offers the following tips for finding other types of leaks.

When customers have a high bill because of a leak in Louisville Water’s pipes, they receive a 100 percent adjustment on their bill, but the company may offer a partial adjustment even if the leak is in the customer’s plumbing.

More information about leaks and about Fix a Leak Week are available at www.epa.gov/watersense/fix-leak-week.