world water day

Fix a Leak Week and World Water Day


Fix a Leak Week is March 15 – March 21

This week is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s “Fix a Leak Week“. After months of severe drought in Colorado, it is time for us all to take initiative to be more water efficient. Even after receiving a colossal amount of snowfall over the weekend, the state is far from being drought free.

You can do your part by checking for leaks and making simple and inexpensive upgrades to your home plumbing system.

Outdoor leaks: If you have an in-ground irrigation system, check it each spring before use to make sure it wasn’t damaged by frost or freezing.

Toilet leaks: Add a few drops of food coloring to the tank and wait 30 minutes to see if any of the dye appears in the bowl. If it does, your toilet may have a leaking flapper valve.

Faucet leaks: Old and worn faucet washers and gaskets frequently cause leaks in faucets.

Water Saving Tips: Retrofitting your faucets with low-flow aerators and replacing showerheads with WaterSense-labeled models can greatly reduce your water use.

For more information and more details on ways to find and repair leaks, visit https://www.epa.gov/watersense/fix-leak-week.

 

World Water Day is March 22

World Water Day, held on the 22nd of March every year since 1993, is an annual United Nations Observance focusing attention on the importance of water. The theme of this year’s World Water Day is Valuing Water. The role of water in households, schools, workplaces, and health care facilities is critical. The value of water became even more apparent when dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Water Day 2021 campaign focuses on five different perspectives of Valuing Water:

1. Valuing water sources – natural water resources and ecosystems. All water is generated by ecosystems. And all the water we abstract for human use eventually returns to the environment, along with any contaminants we have added.

2. Valuing water infrastructure – storage, treatment, and supply. Water infrastructure stores and moves water to where it is most needed and helps clean and return it to nature after human use. Where this infrastructure is inadequate, socio-economic development is undermined and ecosystems endangered.

3. Valuing water services – drinking water, sanitation, and health services. The role of water in households, schools, workplaces, and health care facilities is critical. Furthermore, WASH – water, sanitation, and hygiene – services add value in the form of greater health, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. Valuing water as an input to production and socio-economic activity – food and agriculture, energy and industry, business, and employment. Agriculture places the biggest demand on global freshwater resources and is a major contributor to environmental degradation.

5. Valuing socio-cultural aspects of water – recreational, cultural, and spiritual attributes. Water can connect us with notions of creation, religion, and community. And water in natural spaces can help us feel at peace.

 

Find out more with the following United Nations Resources:

World Water Day 2021 website:

https://www.worldwaterday.org/

UN World Water Development Report 2021:

https://www.unwater.org/publication_categories/world-water-development-report/

UN-Water SDG 6 Data Portal:

https://www.sdg6data.org/