Water Demand and Consumption

Water demand can be defined as an estimation of the the total volume of water to be supplied
within a certain period of time. It is the base of water supply system design. While water
consumption is the actual delivered and measured water quantity (Reig, 2013).

MAJOR INFLUENCES ON WATER DEMAND

A number of factors have a significant impact on water demand, including population, employment,
economic cycles, technology, weather and climate, price, and conservation programs.

Population, Employment, and Technology. Population growth is often the major trend factor in water
use. In the United States, the Southwest and Florida continue to be magnets for migration. Conversely,
many of the older urban areas of the nation are losing population and employment, implying reduced
needs for water in the future.

Business-cycle factors affect water use because fluctuations in industrial and commercial production
translate into commensurate changes in water demand. Changes in personal income also influence water
use because, in the jargon of economics, water is a “normal” good. Water consumption increases, other
things being equal, when family income rises. Consumption is likely to drop if, for example, the primary
breadwinner in the household is out of work.

Technological change can also affect water use over time. For example, widespread installation of
garbage disposals and automatic dishwashers in homes may increase domestic water use. Adoption of
drip irrigation, on the other hand, may reduce water use. New industrial production methods may use
either far more or far less water than previous methods, while requirements and opportunities for water
reuse may dramatically cut water requirements.

Weather and Climate. Seasonal components in water use are generated primarily by the local climate.
Summer peaking demand is typical. Higher summer demand levels are related to water use for outdoor
activities, including lawn watering and gardening, and to the use of evaporative coolers. Some cold
climates have winter- peaking systems, in which water flow is used to prevent the freezing of pipes on the
coldest days. Seasonal demand patterns are important in planning the capacity of water treatment and
distribution systems. Short-term patterns are also critical for scheduling maintenance times for reservoirs,
pumps, and mains.

Price. Price effects are important for short-, medium-, and long-term forecasts. Both water use and utility
revenue are directly affected by water rate changes. In the short term of a few months, rate hikes can
cause consumers to change their behavior. These changes can include taking shorter showers or reducing
car washing and lawn watering. In the longer term, if a noticeable rate hike keeps pace with inflation,
consumers may adapt through their selection of water-using durable goods, favoring appliances with
lower water-use ratings and possibly innovative landscaping designed to cut back on water use.

Efficiency and Conservation Programs. Water efficiency and conserva- tion programs typically couple
an appeal to civic virtue with information on how to use less water. Crisis programs resulting from
drought or other supply interruptions
have generated large, albeit temporary, reductions in water use. Programs designed to permanently
change individual behavior are capable of generating long-term reduc- tions in water usage. Particularly
effective are programs that encourage structural changes, such as the use of low-flow toilets and low-
water use vegetation. Conserva- tion program effects must be thoughtfully included in the water-demand
forecasting model to minimize errors in projected water use and revenue. Regardless of the time frame of
the forecast, many conservation programs will cause a reduction in water use and a drop in revenue. In
contrast, a conservation program that relies heavily on rate increases will cause revenue to rise while
reducing water use.

Other Factors. Physical deterioration in the water distribution system is often overlooked as a factor
influencing water-production requirements. Degradation of the water distribution infrastructure is likely
to result in increased losses from leaky and broken pipes. The size of these losses in an older system can
be hard to estimate, however, because certain types of water meters may underregister as they age. As a
result, some unaccounted-for water may be delivered to customers instead of being lost. End-user water
losses may also tend to increase with the age of an urban area. Including estimates of future lost water in a
complete water-use model may therefore be desirable. Projection of water losses helps to provide a
rational basis for replacement and maintenance policies for pipelines, valves, and meters.

1.2 LEVELS OF TOTAL CONSUMPTION

The usual measure of total consumption is the amount supplied from sources per head of
populalion. However, in many cases the population served is not known accurately. For example,
in large cities there may be thousands of commuters coming in daily from outside; in holiday
areas the population may double for part of the year.

Factors having a significant influence on consumption figures are:

sufficiency of supplies and pressures to meet the demand, 24-hour or intermittent;

population served by standpipes and tankers:

population with waterborne sanitation:

efficiency in metering and billing and in controlling leakage and wastage;

proportion of supply going to relatively few large industrial consumers;

the climate.

The supply situation described in Section 1,1 and the actors listed above mean that comparing

averape total consumption between utilities is not informative; é,g. high consumption could
result

from large industrial demand, whereas low consumption could he due to a shortage of resources.

MAJOR COMPONENTS OF WATER SYSTEM DEMAND

Most public water supply systems serve multiple types of customers including single- family residences,
multifamily residences, industrial establishments, commercial businesses, institutional customers, and
public parks and recreational facilities.

Inevitably, there also are “water losses” and unaccounted-for water or differences between water
production and billed usage.

Residential Water Demand. In many communities across North America, residential customers use 50
to 60 percent of total water production or sales. The proportion varies by the size of the water system. In
larger urban areas, greater proportions of total water are devoted to commercial, industrial, and public
sector uses.

Commercial and Industrial (CI) Water Demand. CI customers use ap- proximately one-fourth the
total quantity of water produced by public supply systems (USGS 1995). Studies show that CI water
customers are heterogeneous in their water use among categories such as irrigation-intensive recreation
(urban irrigation), office buildings, schools and colleges, restaurants, hotels and motels, laundries and
laundromats, hospitals and medical offices, food stores, auto shops, membership organizations, and car
washes. Water is used for cooling, cleaning, sanitation, and landscaping.

Water In a provided area actually delivered Consumption: and measured water quantity. Water
Demand: Estimation of the water quantities to be delivered in an area of supply at the end of
design period. Base for the planning and design of a water supply system. Water Demand
Forecast of the water consumption expected Calculation: in an exactly defined area of supply
within a certain design period

(Billings & Jones, 2008)

Components of Water Consumption

DOMESTIC DEMAND
As for total consumption data, domestic consumption figures reported by various countries are
not
necessarily comparable, mainly because there is no assurance that the figures quoted are
produced
on the same basis, However, data for 84 cities are presented in Table 1.1. Average domestic
plus
small trade consumption reported for 20 European countries for 2010 and 2012 (TWA, 2014)
centred about 130- 160 led in a range of 61 --360 led, with Marseille in France having the
highest
reported consumption and three other listed cities recording over 200 led. For 12 countries in
Asia
consumption was generally between 200 and 250 led in a range of 40-427 led, the highest con-
sumption being in Darwin, Australia and the lowest in Hetauda, Nepal; 11 cities reported
consump-
tion over 250 led. In the USA the typical in-house consumption (excluding cooling water) is
180-230 led, but the total household and small trade consumption can be signilicantly higher as
the table suggests,
In-house domestic consumption is influenced by many factors including the class of dwelling,
number of people in the household, changes in household income, ablution habits, culture,
religion,
differences in climate including seasonal variations, and the number and capacity of water
fittings
installed, The effect of such factors is illustrated in Table 1,2 by the range of metered and
unme-
tered houschold consumptions for the water-only companies in England and Wales; the
reported
higher domestic consumption reflecting the fact that 779 of the population that they serve
resides
in the more affluent southeastern parts of England, The lower figures for metered consumption
are
not representative because metering is optional for most houscholders in the UK and those
choosing
lo have a metered supply tend to be those expecting to pay less for their supply because of
their
low consumption, e,g. single occupants or elderly retired people, This is reflected in the
houschold
size, the 'occupancy ratio
When estimating consumption for a whole area of a distribution system, it is the average
occupancy which is important. In England and Wales average occupancy according to census
figures (Census, 2012) showed a decline from 2.70 in I981 to 2.36 in 2011 and is expected to
continue to fall slowly, The 2001 figures varied from 2.10 - 2.20 in retirement areas to 2.30-2.60
in the more dense populated urhan areas. In the USA mean household occupancy reported by
the
US Census Bureau (US Censux, 2012) declined from 2.63 people in ¡990 to 2.34 in 2010, In many
countries in Africa, the Indian sub-continent and in Southeast Asia, etc, the average occupancy
is five or six people per household, Table 1.3 shows the influence of occupancy ratio on
houschold
demand in selected parts of England; smaller households have proportionately larger per capita
Water usage varies both in quantity und timing during the weck, the putter lor working days
being relatively consistent with morning and evening peaks coineiding with leaving for and
retum-
in from work and school. However, at weckends demand tends to increase with diurnal peaks
ollen later than on working days and of greater magnitude, Cultural and religious characteristies
of
supply area and religious days and public holiday
in ilmenco
weckIy and sensonal

1.6 NON-DOMESTIC DEMAND

Non-domestic demands comprise:
Industrial: Factories, industries, power stations, docks, etc.
Commercial: Shops, offices, restaurants, hotels, railway stations, airports, small trades, work-
shops, etc.
Institutional; Hospitals, schools, universities, government offices, military establishments, etc.
Agricnitural: Use for crops, livestock, horticulture, greenhouses, dairies and farmsteads.
Industrial demand for water can be divided into four categories:
1. Power station demand - mostly for cooling but increasingly for Nue gas trealment, Cooling
waler is usually abstracted direct from rivers or estuaries and returned to the same with linle
conditioning systems for commercial and office buildings. Power station usage may be in
conflict with other water usage in some locations (Murrant, 2015).
2. Major industrial demand - consumplion greater than 1000 m id, eg. for paper making,
chemical manufacturing, production of iron and stel and oil refining. Large capacity water
supplies tend to be obtained either from private sources or a raw water' supply provided by
the water utility, The raw water is distributed through a public non-potable network or a ded-
icated pipeline to the industry and may receive disinfection treatment to reduce the health
risk to people who could come into contact with it. The user would normally treat the water
to the quality required for hix processes including additional treatment and 'polishing' where
the supply is derived from a potable supply. Non potable supplies are always reported sepa-
rately from the 'public' water supply in slat alies,
3. Large industrial demand - factories using 100 - 500 mi 'd for uses such as food processing.
vegetable washing, drinks bottling and chemical products; These demands are often met
from the publie supply. Generally the supply receives additional treatment on-site to meet
process regurements,
4. Medimm to small industrial demand
- Factores and all kinds of small manutacturers using
less than 50 m d, the great majority taking their water from the publie supply.
All industrial premises provide A potable supply for uveir staff for hygiene and catering.
Generally this domestic use' supply is obtamed from the public Nvem, but occasionally it may
be
supplied from the treated water used in the idastral processe

PUBLIC AND MISCELLANEOUS USE OF WATER

The quantities used to water and maintain parks, green areas, ornamental pond, fountains and
gar-
dens attached to public buildings have to be assessed for each particular case in relation to the
area
to be watered and the demand from the type of cover planted, e.g. the area of grass or flower
beds,
types of plants and shrubs, etc. The estimate should include potentially high seasonal variation
especially in hot dry climates. Often the quantity of water used for public watering is only
limited
by the available supply. However, in some cities, maw water or "grey water' is used for these
pur-
poses, Oiher miscellaneous uses include supplies to government-owned properties, street
cleaning,
flushing water mains and sewers, and for firefighting. Where supplies to public buildings, such
as
government offices, museums, universities and military establishments, are not paid for the
demand
can be substantial compared with the usage in equivalent private sector buildings. Water used
for
street cleaning, Mushing. firefighting and system maintenance activities can be assessed from
the
records of the time, duration and equipment used.
In the UK supplies to publie parks and wildings and to government and local authority offices
is generally metered and should thus form part o the melered consumption. Unbilled and
unmea-
sured legitimate waler usage would be for firefighting and for routine maintenance activities,
such
as testing fire hydrants, sewer cleansing and flushing dead ends of mains, Temporary
connections
for building sites, which used not to be recorded, are now metered and the consumption is
billed.
The total of the miscellancous unbilled and unmeasured demand is estimated by wilities in
England and Wales to be about 1.75% of the total input inio distribution, equivalent to about
4,5 led
for the total population.

Fire fighting demand

 A public water supply delivers volumes of water to residents, businesses, and other organizations
in a community or urban area. These customers use the water, returning some part of it back,
usually to a water treatment facility that discharges its effluent into rivers, streams, or other
environments.

Accordingly, the basic meaning of water demand, in the context of a public water supply, is the total
volume of water necessary or needed to supply customers within a certain period of time. In this sense,
system water demand and total water production in a public water supply are ultimately equivalent
concepts. Total system water demand includes an inevitable volume or component of water losses. 2