public works
Leaks
Fixing leaks save YOU money…….
A small leak quickly adds up to a lot of wasted water. Toilets can silently leak 150 gallons a day, or 55,000 gallons a year.
If you have recently experienced an unusually high and unanticipated water bill, you may be losing water through a plumbing leak in your home.
Find your water meter: It is usually located in the right-away on the street side of the sidewalk, The meter is in a small underground box. Look for a rectangular meter cover that could be made of cement, metal, or plastic. Lift the lid to locate the dial. If all faucets, toilets, ice makers, etc. are off the dial should not be moving. In addition water meters have a small triangle or wheel which spins if water is passing through the meter. This acts as a leak detector. If this detector is spinning when all water outlets in your house and your property are off, there is a leak somewhere on your property.
Most high water bills are caused by leaks in toilets.Fixing toilet leaks: Your toilet is the biggest user of water in the house…and leaks here will be expensive and you can’t necessarily hear the leak. Toilet leaks are hard to find. Normally, leaks in the toilet are caused by one or more of the following parts: bad flapper valve, flapper valve seat, ball cock valve, float arm or overflow tube. You can check a toilet leak by adding food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking, color will appear within 30 minutes. (Flush as soon as test is done, since food coloring may stain tank.)
If you have to jiggle the handle to get the toilet to stop running, check the lift chain to make sure it isn’t hung up on something or has a kink in it.
Dripping faucets: The second most cause of household leaks is a dripping faucet that can waste 20 gallons of water a day. Faucet leaks are easy to detect. Leaking faucets are usually caused by work washers or “O” rings. These can be purchased at a hardware store.
