scholarly journals Smart metering technology and community participation: investigating household water usage and perceived value of hybrid water systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Fornarelli ◽  
M. Anda ◽  
S. Dallas ◽  
G. M. Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Community Participation ◽  
Water Use ◽  
State Government ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Water Usage ◽  
Smart Meters ◽  
Per Capita

Abstract Hybrid water systems (HWSs) are emerging as an alternative decentralised and cost-effective approach for urban water management. Although continuous monitoring is recognised as an essential step to inform the planning and design of water services, a knowledge gap has been identified in the integration of water use monitoring, HWSs and community participation. This research compares water practices of households with and without HWSs, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data. Water use data were collected at selected households via smart meters at 30 minutes intervals. R computing software was used for data analytics and dashboard visualisation. Qualitative data on water practices was collected through one-to-one interviews, on-line surveys and community workshops. On a per capita basis, sites with HWSs have a 20% lower total water demand and 41% lower mains water demand than sites without HWSs. Depending on the level of sophistication of the installed HWS, the reduction of mains water use across the participants ranged from 20% to as high as 80%. Almost all sites with HWSs were able to meet the state government targets (40–60 kL/person/y) on annual per capita mains water usage. The seasonality of rainwater supply versus the weather-independent supply of greywater was observed in the data. The qualitative data collected during community engagement highlighted the importance of establishing a personal connection between the individual and the water resource and of involving the resident in the different stages of harvesting, using and disposing of water. This is expected to contribute to a higher perceived value of the water resources by improving awareness, making knowledge more accessible, improving the transparency between the community needs and the water utility decisions. To this end, the role of digital technologies in the water sector plays a role in assisting with the paradigm shift from centralised water networks to an integrated and community-empowered, centralised-hybrid water system.

scholarly journals Decoupling Urban Water Use and Growth in Response to Water Scarcity

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2868
Author(s):  
Brian D. Richter ◽  
Kendall Benoit ◽  
Jesse Dugan ◽  
Gabriella Getacho ◽  
Natalie LaRoe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Annual Data ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Water Usage ◽  
Western Us ◽  
Urban Water Use ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Residential Use ◽  
Response To Water

Many cities in the western US face difficult challenges in trying to secure water supplies for rapidly growing urban populations in the context of intensifying water scarcity. We obtained annual data from urban water utilities across the western US to document trends in their water usage and service populations. We found that many cities have been able to accommodate population increases while simultaneously reducing their volume of water use, thereby decoupling growth from water use. This outcome is largely attributable to reductions in per-capita residential use. We identify additional untapped potential that can sustain and widen this decoupling for many cities.

Application of Gini, Theil and concentration indices for assessing water use inequality

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 1335-1347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Malakar ◽  
Trupti Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
National Income ◽  
Theil Index ◽  
Water Usage ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gini Coefficients ◽  
Management And Development ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Concentration Indices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the application of Gini, Theil and concentration indices for measuring inequality in water usage. Design/methodology/approach Gini coefficients and Theil indices have been used to estimate the overall inequality in domestic water use in a sample of 30 countries around the world. Along with Theil’s L (unweighted) index, liters per capita per day and gross national income weighted Theil index have also been estimated. Theil indices have been further disintegrated into within- and between-group inequalities. Concentration curve is also constructed to study the inequality in water use in accordance to the countries’ economic standing. Findings Domestic water use is high among the well-off countries considered in the study. Also, the Theil indices indicate that between group inequality contributes more to the overall inequality. It is observed that Theil indices, which consider only per capita water usage and can be decomposed, give a better insight into the existing inequality. Practical implications Different approaches were used to quantify inequality. The choice of index depends on the context of the study. The proposed approaches can contribute to planning of sustainable water management and development policies. Originality/value There is a dearth of metrics for quantifying inequality in water access or use. The study presents the application of indices, widely used in quantifying inequality in access to other resources such as income and energy, in assessing water inequality.

The impact of tap connection on water use: the case of household water consumption in Dakar, Senegal

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNE BRIAND ◽  
CÉLINE NAUGES ◽  
JON STRAND ◽  
MURIEL TRAVERS
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Crucial Issue ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Expected Increase ◽  
Residential Water

ABSTRACTPredicting residential water demand for non-connected households that obtain connections is a crucial issue for water planners in developing countries. We propose a technique derived from Heckman (1976) to accurately measure the expected increase in water use due to access to tap water while controlling for differences in characteristics between connected and non-connected households. Illustration is made on a cross section of 246 households from Dakar, Senegal. We show that getting a tap connection induces an expected increase in water use of 26 L per capita per day.

Social interaction in water demand management implementation

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 295-301
Author(s):  
J.S. Buckle
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Water Demand Management ◽  
Education Project ◽  
Broad Concept ◽  
Efficient Water Use

This article describes a successful awareness and education project undertaken in an East Rand township by the Water Cycle Management Section of Rand Water. The Project's focus was to create awareness in the community of the broad concept of water cycle management within an environment and to transfer skills to community members (facilitators) who could then assist in ensuring effective and efficient water use.

Resource Endowments in Emerging Market Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 097491012110043
Author(s):  
Liu Qingjie
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Fossil Energy ◽  
Consumption Structure ◽  
Strategic Resources ◽  
Emerging Market Countries ◽  
Consumption Reduction ◽  
Per Capita

This article examines the emerging market countries on their national strategic resources—farmland, fresh water, and fossil energy—which are analyzed from the perspectives of distribution, status of development, and existing issues. The study draws the following conclusions: Emerging market countries have abundant farmland resources yet inadequate per capita resources; because of extensive operation on farmland, grain yield is low, which threatens food security; emerging market countries are saliently short in water resources per capita and face imbalances and low productivity over water use, and their agriculture practices are water-intensive; emerging market countries are growing as global centers for production, consumption, and trade of fossil energy, with a long, coal-dominated consumption structure that has a growing momentum, which subjects them to a greater pressure to reduce carbon emissions; and emerging market countries are inefficient in the use of energy, though they have huge potential for energy conservation and consumption reduction.

Analyzing the Effect of Mandatory Water Restrictions on Water Usage

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trey Dronyk-Trosper ◽  
Brandli Stitzel
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Water Rights ◽  
Water Usage ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Water Restriction ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Total Water Consumption ◽  
Water Restrictions

AbstractAs water rights and water usage become an ever more important part of municipalities’ and states’ way of life, it becomes important to understand what policies can be effective for encouraging conservation of water. One method that has been employed at various times and throughout numerous communities is to limit outdoor watering days. We use a dataset with over 3 million property-month observations during the 2007–2015 period in Norman, Oklahoma, to identify whether the periodic implementation of mandatory water restrictions reduces water usage. Our data allow us to exploit variance in the timing of these water restriction programs. Our findings indicate that this policy reduces water consumption by 0.7 % of total water consumption. Additionally, we use home assessment prices to identify heterogeneity in this response, finding that high priced homes are more responsive to water use restrictions.

scholarly journals Assessing Future Water Demand and Associated Energy Input with Plausible Scenarios for Water Service Providers (WSPs) in Sub-Saharan Africa

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2169
Author(s):  
Pauline Macharia ◽  
Nzula Kitaka ◽  
Paul Yillia ◽  
Norbert Kreuzinger
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Energy Input ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Water Service ◽  
Current State ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

This study examined the current state of water demand and associated energy input for water supply against a projected increase in water demand in sub-Saharan Africa. Three plausible scenarios, namely, Current State Extends (CSE), Current State Improves (CSI) and Current State Deteriorates (CSD) were developed and applied using nine quantifiable indicators for water demand projections and the associated impact on energy input for water supply for five Water Service Providers (WSPs) in Kenya to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach based on real data in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, the daily per capita water-use in the service area of four of the five WSPs was below minimum daily requirement of 50 L/p/d. Further, non-revenue water losses were up to three times higher than the regulated benchmark (range 26–63%). Calculations showed a leakage reduction potential of up to 70% and energy savings of up to 12 MWh/a. The projected water demand is expected to increase by at least twelve times the current demand to achieve universal coverage and an average daily per capita consumption of 120 L/p/d for the urban population by 2030. Consequently, the energy input could increase almost twelve-folds with the CSI scenario or up to fifty-folds with the CSE scenario for WSPs where desalination or additional groundwater abstraction is proposed. The approach used can be applied for other WSPs which are experiencing a similar evolution of their water supply and demand drivers in sub-Saharan Africa. WSPs in the sub-region should explore aggressive strategies to jointly address persistent water losses and associated energy input. This would reduce the current water supply-demand gap and minimize the energy input that will be associated with exploring additional water sources that are typically energy intensive.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Management Options on Water Allocation in River Mubuku-Sebwe Sub-Catchments of Lake Edward-George Basin, Western Uganda

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2009
Author(s):  
Caroline Ednah Mwebaze ◽  
Jackson-Gilbert Mwanjalolo Majaliwa ◽  
Joshua Wanyama ◽  
Geoffrey Gabiri
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Water Allocation ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Available Water ◽  
Lake Edward ◽  
Western Uganda ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sustainable Water Resources

Limited studies in East Africa and particularly in Uganda have been carried out to determine and map water use and demands. This study aimed at assessing the impact of management options on sustainable water allocation in environmentally sensitive catchments of Mubuku and Sebwe of Lake Edward-George basin in Western Uganda. We used hydro-meteorological data analysis techniques to quantify the available water. We applied Mike Hydro model to allocate water to the different ongoing developments in the catchment based on 2015 and 2040 water demand management scenarios. We used the Nile Basin Decision Support System to assess the sustainability of the different water management scenarios for sustainable water resources use. Reliability computation did not consider hydropower in this study. Results show that water available in 2015 was 60 MCM/YR and 365 MCM/YR for Sebwe and Mubuku, respectively and is projected to decrease by 15% and 11% by the year 2040 under climate scenario RCP8.5. We project water demand to rise by 64% for domestic, 44% for livestock, 400% for industry, 45% for hydro power and 66% for irrigation by 2040. Mubuku water demand is projected to increase from 5.2 MCM in 2015 to 10.7 MCM in 2040. Mubuku available water is projected to fall from 364.8 to 329.8 MCM per annum. Sebwe water demand is projected to increase from 9.7 MCM in 2015 to 22.2 MCM in 2040 and its available water is projected to fall from 60 to 52 MCM per annum by the year 2040 from 2015. Water managers ought to allocate water based on the reliable water allocation which prioritizes domestic and environmental water demands, allocates 90% of industrial demand, 70% of irrigation and 60% of livestock demand. We recommend institutionalizing this model to guide water allocation in the Mubuku-Sebwe sub catchments. Water users should employ more efficient water use techniques to achieve high reliability and sustainable water resources management.

scholarly journals Seasonal Variation of Rainy and Dry Season Per Capita Water Consumption in Freetown City Sierra Leone

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 499
Author(s):  
Salmatta Ibrahim A ◽  
Fayyaz Ali Memon ◽  
David Butler
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
End Use

Ensuring a sustainable urban water supply for developing/low-income countries requires an understanding of the factors affecting water consumption and technical evidence of individual consumption which can be used to design an improved water demand projection. This paper compared dry and rainy season water sources available for consumption and the end-use volume by each person in the different income groups. The study used a questionnaire survey to gather household data for a total of 398 households, which was analysed to develop the relationship between per capita water consumption characteristics: Socio-economic status, demographics, water use behaviour around indoor and outdoor water use activities. In the per capita water consumption patterns of Freetown, a seasonal variation was found: In the rainy season, per capita water consumption was found to be about 7% higher than the consumption for the full sample, whilst in the dry season, per capita water consumption was almost 14% lower than the full survey. The statistical analysis of the data shows that the average per capita water consumption for both households increases with income for informal slum-, low-, middle- and high-income households without piped connection (73, 78, 94 and 112 L/capita/day) and with connection (91, 97, 113 and 133 L/capita/day), respectively. The collected data have been used to develop 20 statistical models using the multiple linear stepwise regression method for selecting the best predictor variable from the data set. It can be seen from the values that the strongest significant relationships of per capita consumption are with the number of occupants (R = −0.728) in the household and time spent to fetch water for use (R = −0.711). Furthermore, the results reveal that the highest fraction of end use is showering (18%), then bathing (16%), followed by toilet use (14%). This is not in agreement with many developing countries where toilet use represents the largest component of indoor end use.

Exploring Northwest China's agricultural water-saving strategy: analysis of water use efficiency based on an SE-DEA model conducted in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province

2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 1106-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mu ◽  
L. Fang ◽  
H. Wang ◽  
L. Chen ◽  
Y. Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Shaanxi Province ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Use Efficiency

Worldwide, water scarcity threatens delivery of water to urban centers. Increasing water use efficiency (WUE) is often recommended to reduce water demand, especially in water-scarce areas. In this paper, agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) is examined using the super-efficient data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach in Xi'an in Northwest China at a temporal and spatial level. The grey systems analysis technique was then adopted to identify the factors that influenced the efficiency differentials under the shortage of water resources. From the perspective of temporal scales, the AWUE increased year by year during 2004–2012, and the highest (2.05) was obtained in 2009. Additionally, the AWUE was the best in the urban area at the spatial scale. Moreover, the key influencing factors of the AWUE are the financial situations and agricultural water-saving technology. Finally, we identified several knowledge gaps and proposed water-saving strategies for increasing AWUE and reducing its water demand by: (1) improving irrigation practices (timing and amounts) based on compatible water-saving techniques; (2) maximizing regional WUE by managing water resources and allocation at regional scales as well as enhancing coordination among Chinese water governance institutes.

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