A leaky toilet hidden somewhere in your Church, or rectory, or parish center, or school can lose 6000 gallons of water per month, or 72,000 gallons per year.

 

There are 748 gallons of water per 100 cubic feet (CCF). Therefore, that leaky toilet is using 96CCF per year.

 

Using figures for New Haven (CT), water (for a 5/8” meter) costs $4.138 per CCF of water used. That leaking toilet is costing $397 a year.

 

What’s worse, in New Haven sewer fees are based on metered water usage at the rate of $4.56 per CCF. That leaking toilet is adding another $437 a year in expenses.

 

That’s a whopping $834 a year in extra utility expense.

 

So, when you think you don’t have the money to fix a leaky toilet, you do.

 

To truly embrace Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, don’t repair the toilet, replace the toilet with a new low-flush model to further reduce future water and sewer fees.

 

As an aside, a faucet dripping just once every second (a slow rate) will cost you an extra $25 per year.