Water Sources

How much water is on the planet and where is it? Well, most of it is saline water,
about 97% of the total (Table 1). Much of the remaining fresh water is also
unavailable as it is locked away in the ice caps and glaciers. Non-saline water that
can be readily abstracted for domestic and industrial use is only available from
lakes, rivers and from aquifers.

Table 1: Sources of water

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Water Quantity Estimation

The quantity of water required for municipal uses for which the water supply
scheme has to be designed requires following data:

1. Water consumption rate (Per Capita Demand in litres per day per head)
2. Population to be served.

Quantity= Per capita demand x Population

Water Consumption Rate

It is very difficult to precisely assess the quantity of water demanded by the public,
since there are many variable factors affecting water consumption. The various
types of water demands, which a city may have, may be broken into following
classes:

Table 2: Water Consumption for Various Purposes:

Types of Consumption Normal Range

1 Domestic Consumption 75-300 (liters per capita per day) (Lpcd)
2 Industrial and Commercial
12-130 (m3/1000 m2/day)
Demand
3 Public Uses including Fire
50-75 (Lpcd)
Demand
4 Losses and Waste 15-20% from total

Table 3 water consumption for various purposes in the year 2000 (USA)

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Example 1:

Find the total consumption for a city of 400,000 population. Assume domestic use
200 Lpcd, minimum public use. The city has 0.2 km2 commercial area, use 30
m3/1000 m2/day. Add 15% losses to the total

Solution:

Total consumption= (200x400,000)+(50x400,000)+(30x0.2x106/103)x103

= 1.06 x 108 L/d = 1.06 x 105 m3/d

Total consumption with losses = 1.06 x 105 x 1.15

= 121,900 m3/day

Fire Demand:

The per capita fire demand is very less on an average basis but the rate at which the
water is required is very large. The rate of fire demand is sometimes treated as a
function of population and is worked out from following empirical formulae:

Q=4637 √P (1-0.01 √P) (American Insurance Association)

Q: flow in (L/min)

P: populations in thousand

Fire duration time 4-10 hours

Example 2:

Compute the fire demand for a city having population of 60,000. Use 4 hours as
fire duration time.

Solution:

Q (L/min)=4637 √P (1-0.01 √P)

Q (L/min)=4637 √60 (1-0.01 √60)

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 =33135.8 L/min

Fire demand = (33135.8 x 60 x 4)/1000

= 7952 m3

Factors affecting per capita demand:

1. Size of the city: Per capita demand for big cities is generally large as
compared to that for smaller towns as big cities have sewered houses.
2. Presence of industries.
3. Climatic conditions.
4. Habits of people and their economic status (standard of living).
5. Quality of water.
6. Pressure in the distribution system.
7. Efficiency of water works administration: Leaks in water mains and
services; and unauthorised use of water can be kept to a minimum by
surveys.
8. Cost of water.
9. Policy of metering and charging method: Water tax is charged in two
different ways: on the basis of meter reading and on the basis of certain
fixed monthly rate.

Fluctuations in Rate of Demand

Average Daily Per Capita Demand

= Quantity Required in 12 Months/ (365 x Population)

If this average demand is supplied at all the times, it will not be sufficient to meet
the fluctuations.

 Seasonal variation: The demand peaks during summer.

 Daily variation depends on the activity. People draw out more water on
weekend days and Festival days, thus increasing demand on these days.
 Hourly variations are very important as they have a wide range. During
active household working hours i.e. from six to ten in the morning and four
to eight in the evening, the bulk of the daily requirement is taken.

So, an adequate quantity of water must be available to meet the peak demand. The
water is supplied by pumping directly and the pumps and distribution system must

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be designed to meet the peak demand. The effect of monthly variation influences
the design of storage reservoirs and the hourly variations influences the design of
pumps and service reservoirs. As the population decreases, the fluctuation rate
increases.

Figure 1: Variation in water consumption throughout the day

The formula suggested by R. O. Good rich is convenient for estimating

consumption and is:

P=180t-0.1

P is the percentage of the annual average consumption for the time t in days from
2/24 to 360.

Maximum daily demand = 1.8 x average daily demand

Maximum hourly demand = 1.5 x average hourly demand

Average hourly demand = Maximum daily demand/24

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Example 3:

Population of a city is 50,000, average Lpcd is 350, calculate the maximum hourly
demand.

Solution:

Average daily demand = (50,000x350)/1000 = 17,500 m3/d

Maximum daily demand =1.8x17,500=31,500 m3/d

Average hourly demand = 31,500/24 = 1,312.5 m3/h

Maximum hourly demand = 1.5x 1,312.5 = 1,968.7 m3/h

Forecasting Population

Prior to the design of a water treatment plant, it is necessary to forecast the future
population of the communities to be served. The plant should be sufficient
generally for 25 to 30 years.

1-Arithmetic method

This method of forecasting is based upon the hypothesis that the rate of increase is
constant. It may be expressed as follows:

Rearrange and integrate the above equation

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Where

Ka: arithmetic constant

P1: initial population

P2: final population

t1: initial time

t2: final time

2-Constant percentage growth rate method (geometric method)

The hypothesis of constant percentage or geometric growth rate assumes that the
rate increase is proportional to population. It can be written as

Integrating this equation yields

ln P2 =ln P1 + kp (t2 – t1)

Kp: geometric constant

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3-Logistic method

The logistic curve method is used for modeling population trends with an S-shape
for large population center, or nations for long-term population predictions. The
logistic curve form is

in which Ps is the saturation population of the community and a and b are

constants.

where n is the time interval between successive censuses.

4-Graphical comparison method

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Example 4:

Use the data in table below to determine the population in 2020 and 2030 using
arithmetic and geometric methods.

Year Populations
1975 78,000
1985 98,000
1995 120,000
2005 134,000
2015 156,000

Solution:

A-Arithmetic method

Ka= (98,000-78,000)/10 = 2000

Ka= (120,000-98,000)/10 = 2200

Ka= (134,000-120,000)/10 = 1400

Ka= (156,000-134,000)/10 = 2200

Average Ka =(2000+2200+1400+2200)/4 = 1950

P2=P1+ka(t2-t1)

P2020=156,000 + 1950 (2020-2015) = 165,750

P2030=156,000 + 1950 (2030-2015) = 185,250

B-Geometric method

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Kp= (ln98,000-ln78,000)/10 = 0.0228

Kp = (ln120,000-ln98,000)/10 = 0.0202

Kp = (ln134,000-ln120,000)/10 = 0.011

Kp = (ln156,000-ln134,000)/10 = 0.0152

Average Kp =(0.0228+0.0202+0.011+0.0152)/4 = 0.0173

lnP2020=ln156,000 + 0.0173 (5) = 12.044

P2020=170,094

lnP2030=ln156,000 + 0.0173 (15) = 12.217

P2030=202,220

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