Soak Up Our Water and Money Saving Tips During Fix a Leak Week! March 17 - 23

Laurel, Md. – March 17, 2025 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Fix a Leak Week (March 17 – 23) is here and WSSC Water is overflowing with tips to help customers save water and money!

The EPA’s Watersense program, which promotes conservation, launched Fix a Leak Week in 2009 to raise awareness about the significant amount of water wasted annually due to household plumbing leaks.

According to the EPA, household leaks can waste an estimated ONE TRILLION gallons of water annually… that’s about 10,000 gallons of wasted water per household per year, not to mention a lot of wasted money.

Toilet leaks are one of the leading causes of high water bills for WSSC Water customers. A small toilet leak can waste approximately 200 gallons each day… that’s 6,000 gallons in a month and add approximately $400 on top of your normal quarterly bill.

According to the EPA – most toilet leaks are caused by an old, worn-out flapper. A flapper is an inexpensive part of the toilet that should be checked periodically and replaced at least every five years. When it wears out, water leaks into the bowl. Customers don’t see the water and often don’t hear it, but a flapper leak can add hundreds if not thousands of dollars to a bill.

Take time during Fix a Leak Week to check for toilet leaks. To watch a step-by-step video on how to check for toilet leaks and request free dye tablets, which indicates if a leak is present, customers can visit wsscwater.com/leaks.

A leaky faucet can also waste water and money! At the rate of one drip per second… more than 3,000 gallons of water is lost each year. That’s equivalent to 180 showers! Old and worn-out faucet washers and gaskets frequently cause leaks. As the weather warms up, check outside spigots and irrigation systems for leaks and make repairs as soon as possible.

The EPA has links online to view many tutorials on how to fix a wide variety of faucets and other important information about household leaks or you can contact a WSSC Water licensed plumber.

There is also a new partnership between WSSC Water and Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland that provides a free annual plumbing leak investigation for CAP-enrolled customers. CAP is WSSC Water’s Customer Assistance Program. If an on-property leak is found, eligible customers can receive up to $9,000 per year in plumbing repair services. Learn more at wsscwater.com/capleakrepair.