News Release

March 15, 2017

Drip.

    Drip.

        Drip.

Leaks may look small, but they add up to big water waste. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than a trillion gallons of water go down the drain because of household leaks. Annually, the average family could be wasting 10,000 gallons of water – enough for 270 loads of laundry – due to easy-to-fix leaks.

That is why the King County Housing Authority has teamed up with the Cascade Water Alliance to work with residents to educate them about water leaks and urge them to report leaks to their property managers.

 “Fixing leaks not only helps save water, it also helps reduce energy use and lower utility bills,” said KCHA Resource Conservation Manager Jenna Smith.

 Though housing authority residents don’t own their own homes, Fix a Leak week is celebrated to assist households in identifying leaks and to report them to their property manager. Trained maintenance mechanics can repair dripping faucets, toilet flappers, showerheads, and other leaking appliances.

 KCHA and Cascade are sponsoring events during the week of March 20 at four Eastside properties.

At Aspen Ridge in Skyway, Patricia Harris Manor in Redmond, and Gilman Square Apartments in Issaquah, refreshments will be served during a Cascade presentation on how to identify and report leaks. Residents will get toilet-leak dye test kits, water bottles, shower timers, and rain gauges.

At Kirkwood Terrace in Kirkland, residents will be surveyed to get their feedback on the showerheads, and aerators that were installed several years ago. In a separate event, Cascade will conduct a toilet maintenance training for KCHA maintenance staff. KCHA is installing 2,450 .8 gallons per flush Niagara Stealth toilets throughout its inventory this year. The training will ensure that staff can repair and maintain the high-efficiency toilets. KCHA expects to save between 3.5 million and 7 million gallons of water annually as a result of the installation of high-efficiency water fixtures.

KCHA, an independent municipal corporation established under state law, assists more than 18,000 households in the Seattle metropolitan region on a daily basis.  The Authority administers rental housing assistance, develops and manages affordable housing and works closely with community stakeholders to address local priorities such as ending homelessness, improving educational outcomes for the region’s low-income youth and assuring that disabled and elderly households can live with dignity. Learn more about the King County Housing Authority by visiting www.kcha.org.

Cascade Water Alliance provides clean, safe drinking water for 350,000 businesses in Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond, Tukwila, and Skyway Water and Sewer District and Sammamish Plateau Water. Cascade provides a variety of programs and services for homeowners, schools, and businesses to help people conserve and protect our limited water resources. Learn more about Cascade by visiting www.cascadewater.org.