Plan
- Why are water leaks a problem?
- How can you detect a leak at home?
- What materials do you need for this activity?
- How long will this activity take?
Do
Activity 1:
- Walk through your whole house, looking and listening as you go from room to room checking for any water drips
- Write down any place you find a drip.
- Use your watch to measure how many times it drips in one minute. If you find a pipe that isn’t dripping, but is wet, write that down too.
Activity 2:
- Remove the lid off the toilet tank. (Ask an adult for help—the lid can be heavy and hard to move.)
- Add a few drops of food coloring or a dye tablet into the tank. Do not flush the toilet.
- Wait 10 minutes. If color appears in the toilet bowl without flushing, it has a leak.
- Flush the toilet immediately after the experiment ends to avoid staining inside of the tank.
Review
- What can you do to prevent leaks at home?
- Why are leaks something to worry about?
- What did you learn that you did not know before?
- What are some other ways you can be more water conscious at home?
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Remember to submit your activities on our Scouts for Sustainability Take Action Map
Materials
- Food coloring or dye tablets
- A clock or watch
- A helpful grown-up
- A toilet
- Pen & paper or a notebook to record your leaks
Keep it Simple
- Examine how much water you use daily at home. Using a water diary, can you tell what tasks use up the most water?
Take it Further
- Using the link (https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-falw-student-worksheet.pdf ), do the math! How many gallons of water do your drips/leaks at home add up to? How can you help to fix this?
