At times, homeowners tend to ignore a leaky faucet. To them, it’s a minor problem that can be left alone without big complications. What they don’t know is that it’s costing them a lot of money.

1. How Much Water
(And Money) Does a
Leaky Faucet Waste?
Beehive Plumbing West Valley
3221 South Maple Way, West Valley City, Utah 84119
(801) 661-8155

2. NAP
At times, homeowners tend to ignore a leaky faucet. To them, it’s a minor problem
that can be left alone without big complications. What they don’t know is that it’s
costing them a lot of money.
Wasted Opportunities
Water is an integral part of everyday life: used for washing, drinking, cooking, and
everything else that’s considered essential in the typical home. So, it’s clear that
every wasted drop is a wasted opportunity. Dripping faucets are among the biggest
culprits in terms of water wastage, and there are numbers to back it up.
The amount of water (volume) in a single droplet is hard to get constant. But, for the
sake of argument, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates the volume
of a droplet at ¼ ml. By this estimate, a gallon of water is equal to 15, 140 drips,
while a liter equates to 4,000 drips. Now, the wastage doesn’t seem to be apparent,
but one concept is still left out here: drips per minute.

3. Say, a faucet drips once every minute. If there are three of them in a single
home, that would amount to 4,320 drips per day. This translates to about 104
gallons a year, or 1 liter per day. Here are average water consumption
numbers in comparison. The U.S. EPA claims that the average American
family (four people) uses 400 gallons daily. That’s about 146,000 gallons a
year.
Money Matters
Here’s how all those wasted water translates into bills.
Average prices for water in the U.S. is $1.50 per 1,000 gallons. For a typical
household, that’s $474 each year on both water and sewage charges. One
should also note the additional $230 spent on water heating, which brings the
total to over $700. Add up the amount of water wasted by dripping faucets
and that’s another $60 to $200 annually.

4. Resources
http://www.beehiveplumbing.com/
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity-drip.html
http://www.isustainableearth.com/water-conservation/a-leaky-faucet-is-
like-flushing-money-down-the-toilet
If every American household had a leaky faucet, it’s scary to think how
much water would be wasted. Estimates put the number at 928,000,000
gallons per day. Doing the math, it’s alarming to think of how much
money is flushed down the drain.
Closing Thoughts
It’s highly important to address leaky faucets as soon as possible.
Homeowners should never consider this as a “minor” problem at all, even
if the dripping seems too inconsequential.