News Briefs: Leaks an Untapped Opportunity for Water Savings, Says Study

Reducing leaks is a cost-effective way to save urban water without draining utilities, according to a new large-scale assessment of utility-level water loss in the United States. Before a drop of treated water in California ever reaches a consumer’s faucet, about 8% of it has already been wasted due to leaks in the delivery system. Nationally, the waste is even higher, at 17%. This represents an untapped opportunity for water savings, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that leak reduction by utilities can be the most cost-effective tool