Figure 1 - uploaded by Seyed M. K. Sadr
Content may be subject to copyright.
The average per capita water consumption (a) versus different household water usage; (b) versus family sizes  

The average per capita water consumption (a) versus different household water usage; (b) versus family sizes  

Source publication
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Aim: To explore the relation between water consumption and water use behaviour and attitudes, and devices applied in households in urban areas in India. Methodology and study site: This paper presents the results of a domestic water consumption survey carried out in Jaipur, India. A questionnaire containing over 60 questions was developed to collec...

Contexts in source publication

Context 1
... and interview responses provide the quantitative and qualitative household water values and cultural/behavioural information. Figure 1(a) compares the per capita water consumption of different water use practices in stand-alone houses and flats/apartments. It shows that bathing has the highest water consumption and it is followed by water used in WC, dish washing, and clothes washing. ...
Context 2
... addition, nearly three quarters of the flat/apartment population have a family size of six or smaller. It is shown in Figure 1(b) that per capita consumption is higher in smaller families and vice versa. According to the result of the survey, the majority of households have only one person earning for the whole family; it can be assumed that generally smaller families have higher life quality. ...
Context 3
... Consumption rates for clothes-washing, 20.80 l/capita/day in flats/apartments and 17.79 l/capita/day in stand-alone houses, indicate that, on average, residents of flats consume more water for clothes-washing in the households than people living in stand-alone houses. This may be due to number of reasons including family size: the majority of the participants living in flats have small families, and as mentioned earlier, water consumption (per capita) is higher in smaller families ( Figure 1(b)). The other reason would the family salary class; a large proportion of the flats/apartments in this study are located in the upper middle class areas. ...

Similar publications

Article
Full-text available
Aim: To explore the relation between water consumption and water use behaviour and attitudes, and devices applied in households in urban areas in India. Methodology and study site: This paper presents the results of a domestic water consumption survey carried out in Jaipur, India. A questionnaire containing over 60 questions was developed to collec...

Citations

... In the midst of the growing water crisis, water demand management has received much emphasis in the last decade as a viable means of solving current water crisis, because it makes a case for making better use of existing water supplies (USAID, 2017). As water-related risks and scarcity continue to rise, improving domestic water security will rely on better water management decisions, which will entail a shift away from traditional water supply augmentation and towards water demand management, which includes conservation measures to improve efficiency in use (Willis et al., 2015;Sadr et al., 2015). Fortunately, one of the key criteria for validating sustainable buildings under green building rating systems is water efficiency. ...
Article
Full-text available
In reconciling the uncertainties around water availability/scarcity with modern demands, water management is considered viable because it ensures efficient use of existing water supplies. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been identified as a process supported by visualization and simulation tools, with the potential for understanding water usage and achieving water efficiency throughout a building's life cycle. The purpose of this paper is to firstly investigate current perceptions on the potential of BIM tools to simulate water usage and optimize water efficiency in buildings, and secondly, assess the factors hindering the adoption of BIM for water demand management in residential buildings in Lagos, Nigeria. This study adopted a survey questionnaire to elicit information from Lagos-based architects. Empirical results indicate that BIM has a very high potential in simulating water usage mainly at design phase. Similarly, BIM has a very high potential in optimizing the efficiency of water fixtures and appliances. The driving factors hindering the use of BIM for water demand management were reliance on traditional methods and inadequate BIM skill. Findings recommend that user optimization of BIM tools through capacity building to maximize the full benefits of BIM across project life cycle should be vigorously pursued by building design and construction firms; that more attention should be given to using BIM technology for optimizing the efficiency of water fixtures and appliances.
... Water efficiency is essential because water scarcity and uncertainty need to be reconciled with modern society's demands, environmental issues, and affordability of the resource [8]. Water conservation in buildings falls under water demand management, aiming to reduce demand by improving its efficiency, essentially focusing users on more sustainable water consumption approaches. ...
Article
Full-text available
Management of water supply in urban areas is a challenge that must be faced by water supply companies to ensure the continuity of domestic water supply to the residents in the area. Hence, this study aims to identify local people’s behavior and daily activities that led to domestic water wastage. Furthermore, the relationship between the demographic factors of the population trends in reducing water use through water savings in their daily activities or installing a home- saving water system is also undertaken. The data were analyzed and interpreted using IBM SPSS software such as descriptive analysis, covering frequencies, mean and standard deviation, correlation with bivariate correlation, cross-tabulation, and multivariate analysis (MANOVA). Availability and demand in water management will only be managed if water resources and water supply engineers address all the balance sides. It will ensure a more comprehensive and interconnected water sector, ensuring the security and sustainability of water.
... Moreover, as far as water-conserving habits are concerned, research by Gilg and Barr (2006) showed that households of fewer residents are more likely than the rest to be committed environmentalists; therefore, they are more likely to achieve larger water savings. Similarly, Sadr et al. (2015) found that the increasing number of small family households and of people living alone aggravates the inefficient use problem. ...
Article
Full-text available
Providers of municipal water supply services worldwide are facing pressure from climate change and increasing water demand due to growing populations and lifestyle changes. With finite global freshwater supplies, there is need for water service providers to consider water demand management as an option for closing the supply-demand gap. Several water utilities in the UK are implementing residential water efficiency initiatives, but to-date, the effectiveness of these programmes have not been comprehensively evaluated. The present study uses statistical analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of a domestic water efficiency programme, initiated by a major water supply company in South East England. Using multilevel regression, water consumption, weather and demographic data, the study analysed water savings achieved through the efficiency programme and defined the factors that affect a household's potential to save water. Analysis showed that households that participated in the programme reduced their per capita consumption by approximately 15%. Importantly, research findings provide strong evidence that single resident and financially stretched households have a bigger potential to conserve water than wealthier and larger households do. This study also highlights the robustness of multilevel analysis, even in cases of data limitations. The findings generate 2 implications for policy and practice, which are useful for water companies involved in implementing water efficiency programmes, as well as their evaluation.
... Moreover, as far as water-conserving habits are concerned, research by Gilg and Barr (2006) showed that households of fewer residents are more likely than the rest to be committed environmentalists; therefore, they are more likely to achieve larger water savings. Similarly, Sadr et al. (2015) found that the increasing number of small family households and of people living alone aggravates the inefficient use problem. ...
Article
Full-text available
Providers of municipal water supply services worldwide are facing pressure from climate change and increasing water demand due to growing populations and lifestyle changes. With finite global freshwater supplies, there is need for water service providers to consider water demand management as an option for closing the supply-demand gap. Several water utilities in the UK are implementing residential water efficiency initiatives, but to-date, the effectiveness of these programmes have not been comprehensively evaluated. The present study uses statistical analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of a domestic water efficiency programme, initiated by a major water supply company in South East England. Using multilevel regression, water consumption, weather and demographic data, the study analysed water savings achieved through the efficiency programme and defined the factors that affect a household’s potential to save water. Analysis showed that households that participated in the programme reduced their per capita consumption by approximately 15%. Importantly, research findings provide strong evidence that single resident and financially stretched households have a bigger potential to conserve water than wealthier and larger households do. This study also highlights the robustness of multilevel analysis, even in cases of data limitations. The findings generate implications for policy and practice, which are useful for water companies involved in implementing water efficiency programmes, as well as their evaluation.
Article
Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) is crucial for national development, as it improves human health and fulfills a fundamental need. This study examines the impact of a large-scale groundwater (GW) recharge scheme using secondary treated wastewater (STW) on WaSH characteristics and identifies the major determinants of improved WaSH charecteristics in drought-hit regions of Kolar district, southern India. The study quantifies improved WaSH practices by comparing WaSH characteristics between impacted areas (influenced by STW) and non-impacted areas (not influenced by STW) of Kolar, using household survey data. Pearson's chi-square and student's ttest are used to verify differences between WaSH characteristics. Furthermore, a composite WaSH score is formulated, and a hierarchical stepwise multiple linear regression model is constructed to identify major determinants of improved WaSH scores. The results show that impacted areas have better WaSH characteristics, including daily water supply by gram panchayat, enhanced toilet uses among all family. members, bathing patterns, cloth washing practices, toilet cleaning patterns, and water consumption per capita per day. The maximum and minimum WaSH scores of impacted areas were 17.50 and 6.50, respectively, while those of non-impacted areas were 14 and 4.5. This study finds that improved water availability, quality, and security due to daily water supply at the household level are the major determinants of improved WaSH practices. These results can inform policymakers in designing sanitation and hygiene improvement policies that integrate water recycling projects in drought-hit areas.
Article
A detailed characterization of residential water consumption is essential for ensuring urban water systems' capability to cope with changing water resources availability and water demands induced by growing population, urbanization, and climate change. Several studies have been conducted in the last decades to investigate the characteristics of residential water consumption with data at a sufficiently fine temporal resolution for grasping individual end uses of water. In this paper, we systematically review 114 studies to provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art research about water consumption at the end-use level. Specifically, we contribute with: (1) an in-depth discussion of the most relevant findings of each study, highlighting which water end-use characteristics were so far prioritized for investigation in different case studies and water demand modelling and management studies from around the world; and (2) a multi-level analysis to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the most common results available in the literature, i.e. daily per capita end-use water consumption, end-use parameter average values and statistical distributions, end-use daily profiles, end-use determinants, and considerations about efficiency and diffusion of water-saving end uses. Our findings can support water utilities, consumers, and researchers (1) in understanding which key aspects of water end uses were primarily investigated in the last decades; and (2) in exploring their main features considering different geographical, cultural, and socio-economic regions of the world.
Article
Stochastic models for estimating residential water demand use high-resolution field data consuming large costs and significant time. An attempt for the accurate estimation of water demand may result in its complex analytical model due to numerous factors affecting the water use event. Moreover, as the water supply system is always subjected to variations in demand, the accuracy of water demand estimation in its design can be side-lined. The water demand in residential buildings is mainly governed by the users’ characteristics and their daily schedule. In this view, the use of Fuzzy Logic can be advantageous to model the uncertainty in water demands. The presented study attempts to provide a methodology to estimate urban indoor residential water demand with the help of user-based end-use models in the absence of field data and generate various possible water demand patterns of fixtures. Usergroups were created for assuming spatial variations in water demand. Fuzzy Logic was used to develop the end-use models using data on urban users’ characteristics, their diurnal activities, and water use habits to estimate the demand characteristics of fixtures. The model may also facilitate the computation of pipe sizing in building water supply systems.