[Durham INC] Durham Urges Residents to Fix Water & Money-Wasting Leaks

[PublicAffairs]

[Flag with white backgound 300 dpi]


CITY OF DURHAM
Office of Public Affairs
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701

News Release


News Media Contact:
Amy Blalock
Sr. Public Affairs Specialist
(919) 560-4123 x 11253
(919) 475-7735 (cell)
Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov>
http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC
http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC
http://YouTube.com/CityofDurhamNC


For Immediate Release: March 6, 2015



Share!  Fix-a-Leak Week set for March 16-22; http://bit.ly/1wMamXW


Durham Urges Residents to Fix Water and Money-Wasting Leaks
Fix-a-Leak Week Set for March 16-22

DURHAM, N.C. - Drips down the sink waste more than water - it also equals money down the drain.

As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) ongoing We're for Water campaign, the City of Durham's Water Management Department is encouraging residents to help put a stop to the more than 1 trillion gallons of water wasted from household leaks each year during the annual Fix-a-Leak Week, set for March 16-22.

"Leaks can account for more than 10,000 gallons of additional water consumed in an average home every year, which equals the amount of water it takes to wash 270 loads of laundry," said Don Greeley, director of the City's Water Management Department. "As a WaterSense partner, we are encouraging consumers to find and fix leaks to save water in our community and to save money in their wallets."

As an incentive this year, the City's Water Management Department is giving residents an opportunity to show off their leak detective skills and win prizes. Residents are asked to take a photo or video of a friend, family member or themselves fixing a leak and post it to Durham Saves Water<http://www.facebook.com/DurhamSavesWater> on Facebook or on Twitter with @DurhamWater<https://twitter.com/DurhamWater> in the post. Submissions should be tagged with the hashtag #FixaLeakWeek. One winning post will be chosen every day during Fix-a-Leak Week.

To get started saving water, the City suggests that consumers "check, twist and replace" using the following steps:
*         Check for leaks. Look for dripping faucets, showerheads, sprinklers, and other fixtures. Also check for toilets with silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring into the tank, waiting 10 minutes, and seeing if color appears in the bowl before flushing. Don't forget to check irrigation systems and spigots too.

*         Twist and tighten hose and pipe connections. To save water without a noticeable difference in water flow in the bathroom, twist on a WaterSense-labeled faucet aerator.

*         Replace the fixture if necessary. Look for WaterSense-labeled models, which are independently certified to use 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than standard models.

The City's Save Water Kits can also help residents repair or replace leaky fixtures. The kit, available for $3 in Cashiering at City Hall, includes water-saving kitchen and bathroom sink aerators, a water-efficient showerhead, toilet tank insert (saves water with each flush) and toilet dye tablets to check for leaks.

Homeowners who choose to install a new WaterSense-labeled High Efficiency Toilet can benefit from Durham's toilet rebate program. Through the program, water customers can receive a $100 rebate for each standard toilet they replace with a High Efficiency Toilet.

For more information on Fix-a-Leak Week or to find WaterSense-labeled products or a water auditor, visit http://www.epa.gov/watersense. For water conservation and efficiency information, including details on the High Efficiency Toilet Rebate Program available to Durham residents, visit http://www.DurhamSavesWater.org.

About WaterSense(r)
WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by the EPA, seeks to protect the future of the nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services. Since the program's inception in 2006, WaterSense has helped consumers save 287 billion gallons of water and $4.7 billion in water and energy bills. For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/watersense.

About the Water Management Department
The Water Management Department is responsible for the operation and maintenance of Durham's water supply, water treatment and water reclamation (wastewater treatment) facilities, the collection and distribution systems (including meter reading), and customer billing services. The department has a wide variety of support divisions and programs to maintain the existing infrastructure that provide these integral services and strive to be a responsible steward of the City's physical assets. For information, visit http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/op/dwm, like Durham Saves Water<http://www.facebook.com/DurhamSavesWater> on Facebook, or follow @DurhamWater<https://twitter.com/DurhamWater> on Twitter.

###
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20150306/6b1ced04/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3047 bytes
Desc: image001.jpg
URL: <http://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20150306/6b1ced04/attachment.jpg>