January 8, 2015 – Next time you turn on the tap, imagine hundred dollar bills going down the drain along with that water. That’s literally what happens every single day across America, as billions of gallons of expensive, treated water is simply lost due to leaking, aging water infrastructure. Those aging pipes, which cause more than 237,000 water infrastructure breaks across the country every year, result in $2.8 billion in lost revenue annually and higher rates for public consumers.
Today, NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) launches a new interactive website — Cutting Our Losses: State Policies to Track and Reduce Leakage from Public Water Systems to help highlight how a number of states and utilities are using water loss accounting to address this nationwide problem. At a fast glance, viewers can explore the strength of policies (if any) being adopted to quantify, locate and report unnecessary water losses accurately and set targets for water loss reduction. More on the issue of water loss accounting and the new website from water efficiency experts Ed Osann, Larry Levine and Karen Hobbs and their blog series:
- Ed Osann, NRDC Senior Water Policy Analyst highlights the new interactive website:
- No More Money Down the Drain: New Website Tracks A New Wave of Emerging State Water Policies and Significant Water Losses
- Larry Levine, NRDC Senior Water Attorney shares why wasted water is wasted money and reveals leaders taking action:
- No More Money Down the Drain: How State Comptrollers and Auditors Can Help Plug Leaks in Drinking Water Systems and Save You Money
- Karen Hobbs, NRDC Water Policy Analyst focuses on how Great Lakes states can better manage Basin waters with water loss accounting:
- No More Money Down the Drain: How to Stop Leaks in Drinking Water Systems and Save Money Across the Great Lakes Basin
While every water system leaks, the good news is that some states like Georgia, Tennessee, and California, are leading the way to minimize losses with sensible water policies requiring best practices for estimating, locating, and reducing water leaks. Still yet, far too many states and cities are failing to act on leaks and remain woefully uninformed about the true volume of water losses beneath their streets. Water loss accounting is a cost-effective, systematic approach that helps utilities detect, locate and correct leaks and control budgets (and consumer water bills!). It’s a critical way for utilities to better manage our precious water resource.
