How Much Water Does a Dripping Faucet Leak?

A dripping faucet can waste up to a bathtub's worth of water every week. In fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the average water waste in a household because of leaks is 10,000 gallons (37,854 L) a year. The exact amount of water leaked by a dripping faucet varies according to the speed of a leak. A home with two faucets leaking five drips per minute wastes more than 0.75 gallons (3 L) of water each day, which would add up to 347 gallons (1,313.5 L) in a year.

More about water waste:

• It takes 15,140 drips to fill a 1-gallon (3.78-L) bucket of water.


• Replacing old showerheads helps conserve water. An eight-minute shower using a showerhead manufactured before 1993 uses 24 to 64 gallons (90.8 to 242.3 L) of water. The same shower with a standard showerhead uses 20 gallons (75.7 L), and a low-flow showerhead reduces the water usage to 12 gallons (45.4 L).


• Toilets typically use the most water in households and, as with showerheads, the age of the toilet matters. Older toilets could use as much as 5.28 gallons (20 L) of water with each flush. Modern toilets use 1.5 gallons (5.68 L) or less.