Abstract
Iran is located in a dry climate belt. Such conditions have made the supply of urban water resources one of the most fundamental management challenges. The amount of water consumed in a city is affected by the weather conditions greatly such that as the weather changes, the amount of water consumed changes as well. In this study, several models including zero-order Pearson’s correlation coefficient, first-order Pearson’s correlation, generalized additive model (GAM), generalized linear model (GLM), support vector machine (SVM-Nu), and simplex optimization algorithm were used in order to identify linear/nonlinear reactions of monthly water consumption to the individual and combined associations of meteorological variables (temperature, air pressure, and relative humidity) in Khorramabad city. Zero-order and first-order correlations showed that, by controlling the air temperature, the effect of pressure and relative humidity on changes in water consumption increase. On the other hand, both individual and combined GAM models showed the same result in the nonlinear response of water consumption to the changes in relative humidity and air pressure. The spline method also revealed that, by eliminating the effect of air temperature, the nonlinear reaction of water consumption to changes in pressure and relative humidity was increasing, and by eliminating the effects of the relative humidity and air pressure, the nonlinear reaction of water consumption to the air temperature was intensified. In general, by decreasing the air pressure and temperature, the amount of urban household water consumption decreases drastically. These conditions are generally provided by entering low-pressure systems.
Highlights
Climate affects many aspects of human life both directly and indirectly and plays an important role in determining the socioeconomic, cultural, and physiological functions of the community at any time
All three variables had a significant relationship with the amount of water consumption (P < 0.05). e air pressure and relative humidity had indirect relationship and the temperature had a direct relationship with the dependent variable
Since the warm season in Khorramabad is associated with a higher temperature and a lower air pressure and relative humidity compared with the cold season, it is evident that with the change of season from cold to warm, the amount of water consumption has an increasing trend, and there is a seasonal cycle in the amount of water consumption in Khorramabad
Summary
Climate affects many aspects of human life both directly and indirectly and plays an important role in determining the socioeconomic, cultural, and physiological functions of the community at any time. Xenochristou and Kapelan [1] considered that the amount of water consumption is mainly affected by environmental and socioeconomic factors. In this regard, Brelsford and Abbott showed that the implementation of water policies in Las Vegas (USA), during a period from 1996 to 2007, led to a 53% decrease in water consumption in spite of a 63% increase of population growth [2]. Balling and Gober [12] conducted a study in Phoenix, Arizona, with a warm and dry climate and showed that a 1% increase in precipitation resulted in a 0.001% decrease in water consumption, whereas a 1% increase in evaporation led to a 0.464% increase in water consumption. A 10% increase in total precipitation during May and June led to a 2.5% decrease in total water consumption [13]
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