Loss

Yep I am taking about water loss.  Whether it be in a municipal drinking water system or an individual property or business.  It happens, every single day, a lot.  You get it.  Now let me say I am a water provider.  I understand water loss is unavoidable.  Let me share the analogy I use.  because I know some people just read that comment and can't believe my cavalier attitude. 

Delivering water to people is hard!  I mean really hard.  It is not at all like delivering a different beloved liquid, like say beer.  Now if we load 25 cases of beer at the warehouse and we send it over to the local bar and 22 cases arrive that is irresponsible.  I think maybe sometimes when we say we lost 4 million gallons of water people are envisioning a giant truck with gallon jugs just falling off the back out of an open door.  Not at all what is going on there.  We don't deliver water like we deliver beer. In fact if we do, there is a huge problem! 

Instead we deliver water through thousands of miles of pipe that decrease incrementally in size as the water is pushed through under enormous pressure.  Oh yea, also that pipe is buried sometimes in your yard, sometimes under a road.  It isn't like we just dig it up and replace it every year.  Yes some lost water is inevitable and yes 4 million gallons sounds like a lot and it is, but when we  deliver 60 million gallons it puts it into perspective.

None of this is an excuse for us or for you.  We have to mitigate our losses.  Some will say that is just good business.  I say that is the right thing to do.  That 4 million gallons isn't mine to lose.  Every gallon gone was destine for another purpose.  We take great pains to mitigate loss.  We camera lines to see inside, we listen with devices and track the sound waves.  We prioritize the replacement of that underground pipe to make sure we are decreasing loss.  We adjust the pressure in our systems.  It is the right thing to do.

What about your own system?  Is a dripping faucet just something you live with? I mean water is cheap and how much can that really be?  Your neighbor waters in the rain; this is small potatoes.  Do you know how to read your water bill?  Do you look to see if your use is higher than last month?  Have you had your kids go on a leak detection scavenger hunt?  When is the last time you checked to see if your pressure reducing valve worked?  You can buy a gauge for 10 bucks at a hardware store. Did you know your fixtures were designed to perform optimally at 60 PSI?  Do you know where you T&P valve is on your water heater?  Do you think all toilet leaks make noise?

I have a responsibility to get every drop of water to fulfill it's purpose?  I don't want to work so hard only to have it lost when it gets there.