In a stunning coincidence that can only bode well for our town, government transparency and water conservation are in the spotlight this week. Opening the government and eliminating leaks are sharing a week of publicity? Pinch me with the poetic nature of it all. Here’s the skinny:
More about Fix a Leak Week:
Fix a Leak Week is sponsored by the EPA and their WaterSense program. According to their website, an American home can waste, on average, 11,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks. Nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year. That’s why WaterSense is promoting Fix a Leak Week from March 16 to 20, 2009, to remind Americans to check their plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.
The CCSD is offering its customers the opportunity to monitor their own water meters. For $25.00, you can obtain an Orion Water Meter Monitor that will allow you to view your water consumption at any time–a great water conservation or leak detection tool. It can be easily installed in your residence or business and provides on-demand visual display of the actual water meter reading along with indication of leaks.
Please call the CCSD at 927-6223 to find out more about this water and cost saving tool.
The EPA is also asking people to Pledge to Fix a Leak!
How long have you been ignoring that pitter patter coming from the shower? How about the leaky spigot on the side of the house, or that running toilet? While leaks might sometimes seem like small problems, over time they can waste both valuable water resources and money. On average, a U.S. household can leak 11,000 gallons of water per year—enough to fill a backyard swimming pool!
Want to do something about it? Take the WaterSense pledge to fix a leak around your home (see how many have already made the pledge!). You’ll save a precious resource, but that’s not all. Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills.
Common types of leaks found in the home are leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. These types of leaks are easily correctable, in most cases requiring only a few tools and hardware that will easily pay for themselves in water savings.
If you discover a significant leak that merits fixture replacement, look for the WaterSense label when considering a new toilet or faucet, and you’ll increase your home’s water efficiency. WaterSense labeled faucets, for example, use 30 percent less water without a noticeable difference in flow, and they are available in hundreds of different styles.
So grab a wrench or contact your favorite handy person to address leaking toilets, faucets, and other plumbing fixtures around your home.
More about Sunshine Week:
Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, non-profits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know.
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Sunshine Week is led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and is funded primarily by a challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation of Miami.
Though spearheaded by journalists, Sunshine Week is about the public’s right to know what its government is doing, and why. Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their government at all levels, and to give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger.
Sunshine Week is a non-partisan initiative whose supporters are conservative, liberal and everything in between.
And being involved can make a difference. Witness:
Sunshine Week 2009 Survey of State Government Info Online
Most Americans can easily find videos of water skiing squirrels on the Internet but they’ll have less luck finding out whether their children’s school buses and classrooms are safe, or if neighborhood gas stations are overcharging.
The Sunshine Week 2009 Survey of State Government Information online found that while more and more government records are being posted online, some of the most important information is being left offline. And in some cases governments are charging taxpayers to access records that they already paid for, such as… Read the full entry here.
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