Water Demand Management and Household Level Metering in Low-Income Areas of Urban Africa

Increasing the level of water metering is an objective of most initiatives for the operational restructuring of African water utilities promoted by donors and development agencies from the 1990s. Water metering penetration is a common benchmarking indicator to measure the performances of water utilities. In contrast with other benchmarks and targets set for the African water sector, which remain largely unmet, water metering at household and at water point levels are quite successful. The study discusses the arguments behind the widespread acceptance of the target of 100% metering, focusing on the suitability of household level metering for low-income settlements of urban Africa. An empirical analysis shows that metering is not an effective water demand management tool for domestic consumption, probably due to the fact that average consumption is already low, and it can hardly be reduced further. The case study shows that universal metering ambitions might discourage household level connections.

Water Utilization Status and Water Saving Awareness Investigation

In this study, water utilization status and water saving awareness investigation were analyzed through a survey in Gwangju Metropolitan City. Consequently, it was observed that most water is wasted when showering and doing laundry. Therefore, it is necessary to supply water-saving washing machines and dishwashers along with water-saving devices. A total of 64% of the respondents conserve water in their daily lives, and the reasons are worries about the future and economic reasons. Water saving is not practiced because it is unfamiliar or uncomfortable. Therefore, methods are necessary to save water without inconvenience in daily lives. It is judged that the results of this study can be used to establish strategies for water demand management.

A Framework for Archive Demand Management Strategies: A Pilot Study on Water Use in a Low-Income Brazilian Area

This study presents a pilot study in suburban households in Salvador, Brazil, inserted in the context of a framework developed to aid water demand management strategies. The framework aims to understand the barrier of subjectivity while identifying consumption habit patterns in households. Six key sets of components create the framework architecture: (1) characterization of the area based on: context, climate, population/area, population growth rate, and water management challenges; (2) a survey to obtain socio-demographic and physical property data of the sample; (3) smart metering and data processing systems to monitor sample water end use; (4) determining daily consumption patterns; (5) analyzing qualitative data through theoretical consumption models to identify relevant variables for the next step; and (6) construction of representative mathematical models of consumption for each daily practice (this item was not included on pilot). It provides a starting point to understand how water demand management strategies can be supported at the user and decision-making level. As a result, improvements to the interview guides used in the pilot were suggested. Furthermore, customized measures to promote rational water consumption were identified in the study area, and policies could be proposed.

Water Demand Management Based on Water Consumption Data Analysis in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

In Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the population and water demand have nearly tripled in the last two decades. Thus, it has become critical to curtail the growing water demand. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Abu Dhabi’s residential water demand management through the installation of water-saving fittings. The analysis of water consumption time-series data revealed that water consumption of the three water user categories was significantly different. Briefly: water-tariff exempt users consumed 95.19 m3/d/connection in 2019, followed by nationals with 5.14 m3/d/connection, and expats at 0.7 m3/d/connection. Nationals began saving water in 2011, which was earlier than the water tariff revision of 2015. In a newly developed area of Khalifa City, the water consumption of new residents was 46.0% less than that of old residents, indicating the effectiveness of water-saving fittings installed in new homes following the Housing Rules’ requirements. Then, based on the estimated number of new connections and the fittings’ saving efficiencies, we estimated that water-saving fittings contributed to 73.1% of the water savings since 2011. These results strongly recommend the introduction of an incentive or subsidy for owners of old houses to replace their outdated fittings with water-saving ones.

Technologies of savings systems that generate greater efficiency in the consumption of drinking water

This review article examines the main aspects of drinking water demand management from a technological and cultural perspective as a strategy for the efficient use of urban aqueducts. It is necessary to know the factors that affect the consumption of water in homes in order to generate management processes to solve the misuse of this resource. In the first room, a description of the demand is presented and some investigations are presented. Then some low water consumption devices are described, finally social mechanisms are mentioned to achieve a more efficient use of water.