California Drought Crisis: Billions Of Gallons Of Water Are Lost To Leaks Each Year
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
Amid extensive efforts to crack down on household water use in California, some experts say the best solution is simply plugging leaks.
The San Francisco Bay Area is one place where a significant amount of water is getting lost as a result of leaky and broken pipes.
"As Bay Area residents struggle to save water during a historic drought, the region's water providers have been losing about 23 billion gallons a year, a new analysis of state records reveals," the San Jose Mercury News reported.
That's enough water to cover all of Manhattan in 5 feet of water, or to satisfy the water demands of 71,000 families for a year, according to the report. The findings were based on the newspaper's analysis of reports submitted to the Department of Water Resources.
The upshot? "California's water-conservation challenge could be nearly solved if the pipes, water mains, and aqueducts that carry the state's drinking water didn't leak," the San Francisco Examiner reported.
Jennifer Stokes and Thomas Hendrickson, a pair of research engineers, say plugging leaks should be at the forefront of conservation policy.
"Among our efforts to use water wisely, investments in leak detection, pressure management and water pipe repair deserve more attention. Why? Because they work and do not depend upon individual behavior changes," their recent editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle said.
Of course, leaks are not the only problem.
"Some reported water losses aren't all attributed to leaks, expert say. Some are due to faulty meters, data errors, theft and firefighting," KCRA reported. "Groups, including the American Water Works Association, estimate that replacing and expanding water systems will cost at least $1 trillion over the next 25 years."
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