Plan Now for National Groundwater Awareness and Fix-A-Leak Weeks in March

National Groundwater Awareness Week is taking place March 10-16, and EPA’s WaterSense Fix-a-leak is the following week, March 18-24, 2013.

National Groundwater Awareness is March 10-16

Please make preparations now for promoting this once a year event to help raise public awareness about groundwater.  The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) invites you to join them in this effort to promote Groundwater Awareness Week by spreading the word through your website, timely newsletter publications, social media, or other education and outreach activities.  NGWA offers customizable messaging and content for promoting Ground Water Awareness Week in ways that best fit your priorities (such as emphasizing the importance of regular water testing by private well owners).

Please borrow the useful information and materials provided on NGWA’s web site at Ground Water Awareness Week and Wellowner.org.  Scroll down the left side of the web page content buttons to “Awareness,” and then click on the tabs for sample news releases; useful information blurbs and facts; links to reference documents for more information; graphics, posters, and media tools for outreach; education materials for schools; and more.

State drinking water programs and health departments can use these tools to reach private well owners and the general public, and also pass this information along to their water utilities so that this important message can be shared directly with their customers.

Fix-A-Leak Weeks is March 18-24

It’s time to remind homeowners to dig out their wrenches and pipe tape because Fix-A-Leak Week 2013 is just around the corner!  For the fifth consecutive year, EPA’s WaterSense program and its partners (including ASDWA and many states) will raise awareness about the importance of eliminating household leaks during Fix-A-Leak Week March 18-24, 2013.  To help make this weeklong event truly national in scale, ASDWA encourages states to share information and host community events that highlight the water-saving benefits of fixing household leaks.

Did you know that an American home can waste, on average, more than 10,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks?  And nationwide, more than one trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year?  That’s why WaterSense reminds Americans to check their plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems each year during Fix-A-Leak Week.

Visit the Fix-A-Leak Week web site for some good ideas, step-by-step guides, inspirational ideas and case studies such as New Mexico’s search for bad flappers, as well as leak detection efforts in Texas, West Virginia, and across the nation.  You will also find updated tools and resources for distribution by states and water utilities.