I remember reading that the water supply system in town loses about 30% on its way to our houses due to leaks.

wow sarah is slipping she don't have a personal experience related to this one

Since I don't have an irrigation system, I never thought about leaks in the front yard.
=================
"An irrigation system with pressure set at 60 pounds per square inch that has a leak 1/32nd of an inch in diameter (about the thickness of a dime) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month."
=================
Thanks, janesvillean, for the links. I didn't know this event is being driven as a national "week". I'm going to share this info with my friends/relatives in other states!

So even an article about conserving water -- and money -- brings out naysayers. Why am I not surprised . . . .

schulist: Well, so far, they've published a press release, and the Gazette has printed it. If you're concerned about the public purse, then certainly don't click on these links:
http://www.epa.gov/watersense/fixaleak/
http://psc.wi.gov/utilityinfo/water/cons...
.
11,000 gallons of waste for ~100 million American households is 1.1 *trillion* gallons wasted, or 147 billion cubic feet. This is approximately the volume of Lake Tahoe. At Janesville rates that's about $1.5 billion paid by Americans every year for water that simply waves hello and goes back out the sewer line.
.
So, what would be a reasonable budget for a program that could save Americans $1.5 billion a year (not even counting the fresh water saved, and the non-construction of reservoirs and pipelines and treatment facilities)?

So, I take it we're not talking about leaky bladders here? That would have been more interesting.

Water conservation is a biggie for me, so whether the leak is on my side of the meter, or on the city's, I'm going to check this out. In fact, I was getting my car fixed the other day and waited it out at the local fast food restaurant next door to the mechanic's place. While using restaurant's "facilities," the toilet in the stall next to mine would run, stop, run, stop, run, stop. That's money down the drain. I didn't say anything, but maybe I should have. You know, it's not only the money, it's a waste of clean water. Now that I think about, I'm going to go back there and talk to the manager. I might even donate something towards the repair.

====================
How/Why to find out if your toilet is leaking: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...

"Unlike your electric bill, gas bill or trash bill, your water bill can silently leak away dollars for years and even months without causing obvious problems."

"People tend to repair drippy faucets because the drips are visible and annoying. Whereas, it's easier to overlook the leaking toilet."

"Most of that water bill abuse happens in the bathroom - about 75%. The toilet itself runs up 28% of water bill damage"

Low 1.6 gal flow toilets: http://www.toiletology.com/low-flow.shtm...

Funny Cartoon: http://www.progressivegardens.com/grower...
====================

25 ways to conserve water at home: http://www.eartheasy.com/live_water_savi...
How we use our water in our homes: http://www.evergreen-builder.com/images/...
This graphic shows landscape irrigation uses the most water: 30% of one person's daily use (averaged).
====================

For landscape watering, a rainfall of 0.3 inches will fill a 55-gallon rain barrel -- and it's free water once it's set up. Using a soaker hose, it can take up to twelve hours to drain the full barrel. Think how many downspouts you have on your house and how much free water you can harvest each year ... for years to come.
=I bought mine from the local Rock County Master Gardeners who make them as their fundraiser.
=About Rain barrels: http://www.lakesuperiorstreams.org/storm...
=Video - how to install a rain barrel: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...
=How to paint your rain barrel: http://v3.mmsd.com/RainBarrels.aspx

Just wondering how much this "promotion" is going to cost????

tguy, it's not like they're making a profit. There are capital outlays, maintenance, salaries, and debt service to cover. Clean, safe water costs money, and there are some fixed costs that don't decline when usage does.
.
Thank the stars you don't live in a country like Bolivia, where the IMF forced the government to sell its water utilities to private companies. When they can't make enough money, they shut down the water system.
http://www.alternet.org/water/84145/

Seems like we are told to cut our consumption of water,gas and electricity to save ourselves money and what happens?They raise the rates because we aren`t using enough.They aren`t
bringing in the big bucks they are used to
getting.Can`t win.

Save water so they can turn around and do a rate increase because we aren’t using as much.

Double that, if you live in Darien.

"If the meter changes at all, there’s probably a leak. " Not always true. My mom had a $500+ water bill one month and complained to the city. They stopped by her house and said nothing was wrong with her meter?!?!?!? She lives alone and can't possibly use that much water in a month. Another inspection showed a defective meter. Check your meter and hold the utilities accountable.