As a part of your home maintenance, don’t forget to check your taps, hot water heater, water softener, and especially toilets, for leaks. Visit calgary.ca/waterguide for information on finding and repairing leaks.
Toilets are the most common cause of leaks in the home. Most toilet leaks are silent and go unnoticed for long periods of time.
Checking for toilet leaks regularly can save both water and money. A chain caught under a toilet flapper can waste 3,000 litres a month*. A leak this size could increase your monthly bill by $10 until it is fixed. A broken or worn-out flapper could waste 450,000 litres per month. A leak this size could add almost $1,300 to your bill.
Take the Leaky Toilet Test to find out if your toilet is leaking.
- Remove the tank cover.
- Put several drops of food colouring (or another coloured liquid you have in your home like coffee or tea) into the toilet tank.
- Wait 15 to 20 minutes.
- Look in the bowl. If the water changes colour, you’ve got a leak.
The sooner you make a repair, the better. Go to calgary.ca/waterguide for detailed instructions on how to repair leaks.
Protecting Calgary’s water resources is a shared responsibility among The City of Calgary, businesses and Calgarians. Being water efficient today has many benefits.
- Keeps our rivers healthy by removing less water
- Saves money and energy on treating and delivering water
- Extends the use of our water treatment plants
- Makes drought less impactful to our homes and businesses
- Increases our resiliency to climate change
- Ensures our downstream neighbours have enough
For more information on where our water comes from, visit calgary.ca/waterguide.
Volume of water can vary based on type of fixture and water pressure. Assumes a 30-day billing period.
* Based on 2021 water rate ($1.45/m3) and wastewater rate ($1.57/m3) for Calgary. Not including service charges.
** Based on modeling of possible flow rate of 1” diameter residential service line.
