Save the Water!

If you think you have a leak, there is an easy way to check. First, make sure all the faucets, washing machine, dishwasher, etc. are turned off so that you have no water running. Go to your water meter box and open the lid; you may need a flat head screwdriver to pry it up. If you can't see the glass of the meter, clean it off so it's all visible. Your meter may not look exactly like this one, but this one is a common style used in North Texas and most indicators are fairly similar. Look for what I would call "the spinner"; in the picture above, the spinner is the black and silver wheel in the center of the dial. When water is running, it spins fast or slow depending on how wide you have a fixture open. If nothing is running inside your house and the spinner is turning, there is a good possibility you may have a leak somewhere. It could be any number of things... leaky hose faucet, toilet running or bad flapper, or it could be one you can't see like a slab leak or a bad service line in your yard. If it's not obvious to you, call a plumber. If it's not obvious to him, call a better plumber.

Another easy way to tell that you might have a leak is your water bill. In Fort Worth, an average water bill for someone who doesn't irrigate is around $50 a month, and in most places, your water bill is fairly consistent from month to month, with small increases from time to time. If you notice all of the sudden that your bill has doubled or even tripled, something is up.

Water carved the . There was even a broken water pipe at the bottom of the Grand Canyon when I went through. The plumbing crew had to be flown in by helicopter, with their tools and materials sent in on a second flight in, and they had to camp for a couple of days to fix the leak. With no power tools. In some of the oldest rock in the world. If you have a leak at home, hopefully the repair will go a little smoother than that for your sake AND mine.

Water will always find a way out, and in a house this usually means damage. And that kind of damage usually lends itself to other damage and it can snowball. The sooner you can locate the problem, the less you will likely suffer. More important in the long run, though, is the fact that every leak wastes water, and clean water is slowly becoming a more finite thing than many had ever imagined. Nothing in the world can replace it and our sources are dwindling, but I would bet that I could find at least one leak of some sort in almost every house and business I work in, and most people don't think that much of it. It's time to start taking it seriously.

If you have a leak, or know someone who does, please contact me immediately. I work hard every week so that I won't have to tell my grandchildren, "Oh yeah... water. Sorry about that. We had all these leaky faucets and pipes and hoses and it just didn't seem like that big a deal at the time." Besides, if we fixed all the leaks, taking a really long shower every once in a while wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Think about it. I do every day.