Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Consumption of Water from the Public Water Supply Systems – Case Study of Brno

Abstract

A pandemic of COVID-19 is one of the most challenging situations in modern history in the world. Anti-epidemic measures have an important impact on the use of natural resources. Several studies described increasing water consumption in the households sector. In the study, the data about the water supply through the drinking water supply system in the city of Brno agglomeration were analysed. The city of Brno is the second biggest city in the Czech Republic. In this preliminary study, the monthly data from 2020 were compared to data from 2015 to 2019. The results show that household water consumption in 2020 was in the Brno agglomeration at the upper boundaries of the 2015-2020 water consumption interval. On the other hand, other consumers' withdrawals in 2020 have decreased compared to the interval of water consumption in 2015-2019. Individual measures against the COVID-19 epidemic were considered in explaining the changes in water consumption from public water supply systems. The lockdowns in the March and October 2020 have the most important effect on the water consumption drinking water supply systems. The overall effect of the COVID-19 is a modest reduction in water consumption in 2020.