Super 'bowl' Game

I don’t know about you, but this year’s Super Bowl couldn’t be a better matchup in my mind.
On the one hand, you have the Indianapolis Colts. Led by one of the greatest quarterbacks and game-day managers in the history of the National Football League (Peyton Manning), they have a been-there, done-that kind of attitude that permeates throughout the team.
On the other hand, you have my favorite team in the NFL -- the New Orleans Saints. People used to go to their games and put bags over their heads because the team was so terrible. But with the help of Drew Brees and Reggie Bush, the Saints have brought a sense of rejuvenation to the entire city especially in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

So what does water have to do with the Super Bowl? Denver Business Journal writer Cathy Proctor grabbed my interest when she mentioned the other “bowl” in her blog column this week. Of course, I’m talking about the toilet bowl. Legend says that during halftime of the Super Bowl toilets will be flushed 90 million times! I’m guessing that is an urban legend but even if that number is cut in half that is still a lot of flushing.

According to the Nebraska Lower Platte North Natural Resource District, the most common source of leaks is the toilet. To check your toilet for leaks, put a few drops of food dye in the tank and wait 15 minutes. If color appears in the bowl, you have a leak that should be repaired. Leaky toilets can usually be repaired inexpensively by replacing the flapper or adjusting the water level. According to Proctor, toilets produced prior to 1994 used 3.5 gallons to 7 gallons per flush. Since 1994, federal law has required all newly manufactured toilets to use 1.6 gallons or less per flush. So maybe a new toilet before the Super Bowl game is another option to help conserve our precious resource.

Oh and my pick for the big game – the Saints.

Brian Reetz
Program Coordinator