Understanding Water Consumption Research Articles

Impact of forest cover and human intervention on crop water footprint

ABSTRACT Water, the most needed substance, is declining alarmingly worldwide. This huge water consumption is due to the increasing population and rapid unsystematic urbanization. Water footprint (WF) is an indicator used to understand water consumption, whether it is visible or invisible. Water is majorly consumed in the agricultural sector. This study estimated the crop WF of rice in two urban districts, Ranchi, and Dhanbad, and two forest-covered districts, Palamu and Hazaribagh, of Jharkhand. The study was done for the paddy (rice) crop from 2000 to 2017 through the Cropwat 8.0 model. Ranchi and Dhanbad showed a decrease in consumptive crop WF (WFconsumptive) of rice i.e., 39.92 and 48.29%, respectively, during the study period, whereas Palamu and Hazaribagh showed a comparatively lower decrease with 24.12 and 23.45%, respectively. All four districts experienced lower WFblue than WFgreen. Ranchi is suggested to cultivate rice through rainfed agriculture due to higher WFgreen, good rainfall, and the lowest average WFblue with 167 m3/ton throughout the study period. This study also suggests preparing a proper data management system to calculate white WF at a regional and global level to reduce irrigation loss and achieve sustainable water management goals.

Water Footprint Assessment and Virtual Water Trade in the Globally Most Water-Stressed Country, Qatar

Qatar is a severely water-stressed country. Despite Qatar’s aridity and its lack of freshwater resources, its per capita water consumption is one of the highest in the world, and it is expected to increase in the coming decades. Therefore, understanding water consumption and use through space and time becomes paramount. By employing water footprint assessment (WF) and analysis of virtual water trade (VWT), this research comprehensively examines Qatar’s water consumption patterns both domestically and internationally on a sectorial level (agricultural, industrial and urban sectors) between 2010 and 2021. The findings show that, internally, the urban sector contributed the most to the WF, followed by the industrial and the agricultural sectors with an annual average WF of 3250, 1650, and 50 million m3/y, respectively. Although Qatar exports large amounts of VW (1450 million m3/y), its VW imports (7530 million m3/y) are very high, reflecting the country’s agricultural demand, making Qatar a net VW importing country. Qatar exhibits a national WF of consumption of 11,900 million m3/y, with a water dependency index of 56% and a self-sufficiency index of 44%. Additionally, Qatar has a significant water export fraction of 20%, while only 3% of its water consumption relies on its natural resources. This study pinpoints sectors and areas where WFs can be reduced; the outcomes serve as a foundation for strategic planning, enabling Qatar to make informed decisions to optimize its water resources, enhance water use efficiency, and secure a sustainable water future in the face of escalating water stress. This study’s methodology and findings not only pave the way for more efficient water resource management in Qatar, but also offer a replicable framework for other arid and semi-arid countries to assess and optimize their water footprint and virtual water trade, contributing significantly to global efforts in sustainable water use.

A segmentation approach to understanding water consumption behavioral patterns among households in Saudi Arabia for a sustainable future

Urban water consumption has significant implications for both human welfare and the environment, especially in arid regions. In Saudi Arabia, where 60% of the urban water supply relies on energy-intensive desalination processes, the average per capita water consumption rate of 300 L/day is one of the highest worldwide. This study investigates potential behavioral patterns in residential water consumption among households in Saudi Arabia. A segmentation approach is employed to classify residents into clusters and evaluate their potential water consumption behavioral patterns. Data from 618 households were collected via a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA). Participants were categorized into six segments based on the relationship between their behaviors and water consumption derived from the factor analysis. The outcomes of PCA and CA analyses indicate a relationship between respondents’ socio-demographic factors and their potential behavioral patterns in residential water consumption. The findings highlight that education, household size, income, housing type, age, and nationality, in increasing order of significance, are the key factors influencing household water consumption and conservation tendencies. The paper concludes that comprehending residential water consumption patterns is crucial for effective interventions, social marketing strategies, and communication campaigns for behavioral changes. The study can inform water conservation policies and programs that promote sustainable water consumption practices, benefiting agencies, policymakers, and scholars in the water sector.

Household flow detection using FEAT (flow estimating accelerometer-thermometer) device

The use of IoT devices in water end use disaggregation verification is an emerging field which offers benefits over conventional approaches, in terms of cost, accuracy and scalability. Having reliably disaggregated water appliance consumption data will enable smart water meter data to be used in household water conservation approaches and for understanding water consumption behaviours. The FEAT device provides a low cost, easily applied and scalable solution that is demonstrated to work even for very low flow conditions of 0.03 l/s. The FEAT device is a combination of a battery, Wi-fi board and MPU6050 sensors providing multi-modal accelerometer and thermometer data. The study places 7 of these FEAT devices onto hot and cold water pipes leading to a shower, which is operated 4 times in a high flow situation, 0.13 l/s, and 4 times in a low flow situation, 0.03 l/s. The data is then analysed and compared with a flow logger to determine if the FEAT device can detect when a domestic appliance is using water. There are limiting cases where the level of noise or external interference limits distorts the data, obscuring the distinguishable peaks in the data due to the similarity of the values. By using high and low pass filtering methods it was possible to enhance the peaks but there are still situations where peaks cannot be detected: for example, if a rigid pipe is not able to vibrate easily or if a hot water boiler is not triggered due to the low flow rate. However, the results show it should be possible to overcome these limiting cases, as it is much less likely for both the vibration and temperature data to be adversely affected by noise or external influences simultaneously, therefore decreasing the effect of noise and external influences. In conclusion, this research paper demonstrates that FEAT devices are a low cost, easily applied and scalable solution for detecting flow. By using high and low pass filtering, placing sensors on freely moving pipes and through the use of multi-modal verification, the FEAT device is shown to work on both metal and plastic pipes even in the lowest flow situations of 0.03 l/s. Therefore the FEAT device is a suitable solution for appliance identification in disaggregation verification datasets.

Understanding Water Consumption in Qatar: Evidence From a Nationally Representative Survey

ABSTRACT This paper presents an analysis of a nationally representative (n = 1,002) telephone survey conducted in Qatar on habits, perceptions, and religious attitudes related to water use. Our empirical analysis yields three main findings. When asked whether religious obligation was a reason to save water, of respondents agreed with the statement, showing it to be an important stated motive for water conservation. However, we find no statistically significant relationship between stated attitudes towards water use and actual water consumption. Second, when asked to estimate their monthly water use, participants’ actual water consumption was similar to how they perceived it to be, on average, but different at the decile level. Third, certain household water usage characteristics are associated with significantly higher levels of water consumption. These include: nationality, education, number of adults in the residence, among others.

Supporting Sustainable Rural Groundwater Demand Management with Fuzzy Decision Analysis: A Case Study in Iran

Insufficient clean freshwater has become a growing concern for sustainable development in countries with arid and semi-arid regions. Co-production of knowledge through active communication of experts, government, and local stakeholders can serve as a strategy to cope with water scarcity. Water consumption behavior is a key component of water resource management. This study aims to understand water consumption factors and behavior in a rural area with arid conditions. The study is a mixed-method one conducted through fuzzy decision analysis (i.e., selecting criteria with Fuzzy Delphi and rating them with Fuzzy Analytic Network Process). An empirical case study was conducted on the Akramieh rural area located in Yazd Province, Iran. The results indicate that a change in consumers' culture can have a significant effect in reducing water consumption. Recommendations have been made to encourage the adaptation of farming families to water scarcity. Through public schools and mosques, people can become aware of the conditions and consequences of drought as a crisis, and alternative methods of irrigation can be taught to farmers.

Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) spread-prevention actions on urban water consumption

This article aims to assess the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) spread-prevention actions on water consumption, based on a case study in Joinville, Southern Brazil. Residential water consumption data, obtained through telemetry in two periods (before and after a governmental action imposing quarantine and social isolation), were analyzed. Complementarily, the analyses were also applied to the commercial, industrial and public consumption categories. For the analysis, Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests were applied and Prais-Winsten regression models were adjusted. The results of the Wilcoxon test show that there are significant differences between the analyzed periods, indicating a water consumption drop in the commercial, industrial and public categories, and an increase in the residential category. The regression model results confirm the effect of the restrictive actions in reducing consumption in non-residential categories. The results also indicate an increase in water consumption, which was steeper in apartment buildings than in houses, whether isolated or grouped in condominiums. A weak association was found between the variation in water consumption and the spatial distribution of buildings. Understanding water consumption related aspects is important to gather essential information to ensure the urban water supply system is resilient in a pandemic situation.

Water Consumption by Hydropower, Does It Worth Allocation under Ethiopian Context

The Ethiopian water policy strictly follows water allocation as a principle in setting out water consumption problems and demand projection. Hydroelectric power plants supply the larger share (88%) of the electricity in Ethiopia. 86% of Ethiopia’s plan to 2020 energy supply is expected to be from hydropower. This paper defines water consumption in hydropower production as the quantity of water that leaves the analyzed projects (reservoir regulated hydropower projects) through evaporation. Water consumed by hydropower development has never been studied at a country scale. Thus, in attempting to understand water consumption by the hydropower development, this study will be the first to acknowledge the water consumption by all storage regulated hydropower plants developed in Ethiopia. While studying and designing reservoir regulated hydropower production, the overall effect of water consumption by the projects is assumed to be minimal; thus ignoring water allocation to hydropower projects is a common procedure in Ethiopia. In this study, for multipurpose projects, to identify the water consumption by hydropower against the other purpose (irrigation) consumption, water consumption factors based on economic benefits were used. The study has shown that the 14 existing and under construction reservoir regulated hydropower projects will consume 1.881 billion m3 of water annually. This will make hydropower the second most water consuming water resource development next to Irrigation in the country. Together with the 22 upcoming projects the water consumption will be 3.756 billion m3/year. The results also show that hydropower consumption in the country will take an average of 2.41% of the total water stored in a reservoir. This value is in the range of nearly zero for power projects that use natural lakes as their reservoir (Tana Beles, Tis Abay I & II) and GERD to 10.64%. The total reservoir volume that will be created in the country after completion of the 22 planned projects is larger than 233 BCM, which is greater than the surface water volume the country possesses. This indicates that the future water consumption by hydropower plants shall be revised in accordance with changes made in the final design of each planned projects. Nonetheless, this research provides scientific support for the argument that the production of hydroelectricity by reservoir regulated hydropower schemes, in countries like Ethiopia, is a water consumer. Thus, water allocation shall not ignore its demand.

Water scarcity assessment based on estimated ultimate energy recovery and water footprint framework during shale gas production in the Changning play

Abstract Shale gas extraction has attracted great attention, especially in China, following its energy transition toward decarbonization, while the fast-expanding shale gas industry faces serious challenges related to water scarcity and water contamination. Quantitative investigations of the impacts of shale gas production on water scarcity and water contamination contribute to public awareness that shale gas production will worsen the water resource shortage. This paper presents a comprehensive water footprint (WF) assessment to improve understanding of the water sustainability and availability in shale gas industry. A detailed process water footprint model was used to quantify precisely the potential water consumption and environmental impacts. The full water use chain in the shale gas industry was examined, from the water used for well drilling and equipment maintenance, to the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids and the disposal of the produced water. The results indicate that the historical water consumption ranged from 633.23 m3/segment to 2,292.90 m3/segment, totaling nearly 4.54 × 106 m3 for 120 wells. The projections of the estimated total WF for the constructed production period 2018–2020 and stable production period 2021–2030 were 3.30 × 107 m3/year and 5.21 × 107 m3/year in the Changning play, accounting for 10.12% and 15.98% of the average annual runoff of the Changning River, respectively, and 3.19 × 108 m3/year and 6.38 × 108 m3/year in all of the plays in China, accounting for 0.25% and 0.50% of the total national industrial water consumption in China in 2017 (1.28 × 1011 m3), respectively. The grey WF was the main contributor, accounting for 94.50% to the total WF, suggesting that water quality issues should be highly emphasized and that this footprint has a significant impact on the pollution of the water bodies near shale gas sites. These findings provide a valuable insight in understanding water consumption process in shale gas industry that can be employed to develop water resource and wastewater treatment management strategies and indicate that water resource contamination will restrict shale gas development and different effective alternative forms of management strategies, laws or regulations regarding water resources should be implemented to alleviate water resource and environmental burdens.

Understanding agricultural water footprint variability to improve water management in Chile

Understanding water consumption is crucial for sustainable management of water resources. Under climate change scenarios that project highly variable water availability, the need for public policies that assure efficiency and equity in water resources is increasing. This work analyzes the case of the Cachapoal River agricultural basin (34°S 71°W), which presents temperature increases and a precipitation deficit, with a drought period that began more than eleven years ago having significantly decreased water availability. Water consumption in the basin for food production was determined from the agricultural water footprint (WFagricultural), using the green (WFgreen), blue (WFblue) and gray water footprint (WFgray) indicators, which were measured in the upper, middle and lower basin under conditions of climate variability (dry, wet and normal years). The greatest WFagricultural was established in the dry year, with a total of 18,221 m3 t−1, followed by 15,902 m3 t−1 in the wet year and 14,091 m3 t−1 in the normal year. Likewise, the greatest WFblue and WFgray, of 12,000 m3 t−1 and 4934 m3 t−1, respectively, were also observed in the dry year. The greatest WFgreen, 2000 m3 t−1, was calculated for a normal year. The 63% of agricultural area of the basin was covered by avocado (Persea americana), olive (Olea europaea), corn (Zea mays) and grape (Vitis sp) crops, which presented the greatest WFagricultural. This water footprint data provides a quantitative basis for the assessment of water consumption and degradation, considering agricultural production and its multiple variables. The success of the application of these results lies in the use of indicators to understand change processes and complement future water allocation plans with more rational water management models.

Importing and Exporting Agricultural Crop Products: An Assessment of Virtual Water Flow (VWF) in Saudi Arabia

Virtual water (VW) is increasingly used to understand water consumption related to goods and services in a country. This study estimated the virtual water flow (VWF) for the import and export of agricultural crops in Saudi Arabia. In 2012, Saudi Arabia imported 16.5 million ton (MT) of 58 different crop items from more than 70 countries, while the country exported 0.80 MT of 55 different crop items. The overall import and export were 1.6 and 0.08 kg per person per day, respectively. In 2012, the country imported approximately 22,922 million $$\hbox {m}^{3}$$ ( $$\hbox {Mm}^{3}$$ ) of VW in the form of crop and crop products, in which the major contributors were barley (44.5%), rice (15.1%) and wheat (13.7%). The country exported 970 $$\hbox {Mm}^{3}$$ of VW, associated mainly with dates (30.3%), potatoes (13.6%), sunflower seed (8.6%) and corn (8.2%). The net VWF into the country was 21,952 $$\hbox {Mm}^{3}$$ , which was equivalent to 776 $$\hbox {m}^{3}$$ per person per year. The export of VW was 4.2% of VW import. Through better management of imported animal feed and adjusting the import from source countries, import of subsidized crop and VWF into Saudi Arabia can be reduced, which can lower the expenditure and protect the global water resources.

Decomposing the decoupling of water consumption and economic growth in Jiangxi, China

Abstract Current population growth coupled with industrial growth has caused water supply to be outstripped by human demand. Understanding water consumption (WC) decoupling patterns and the factors affecting the decoupling status are essential for balancing economic growth and WC. This study determines the decoupling relationship between WC and economic growth in Jiangxi Province, China, and the driving factors were determined by the Tapio decoupling model and the logarithmic mean Divisia index method. Results showed that changes in the industrial structure in Jiangxi Province resulted in corresponding changes in WC structure. Analysis of the decoupling relationship showed that the decoupling state between WC and economic growth for primary industry was very unstable and largely volatile from 1999 to 2015, but showed a good decoupling status for secondary and tertiary industries. The largest cumulative effects on WC were economic development and technology, which were positive and negative drivers of WC changes, contributing 1,406.14% and −902.96% to the total effect of WC, respectively. The findings can help Jiangxi government identify the key factors influencing the decoupling effect, and formulate effective policies to reduce WC, which will benefit the harmonious development of economy, society and water resources in Jiangxi Province.

Effects of drought stress and subsequent rewatering on major physiological parameters of spring maize during the key growth periods

For deeply understanding water consumption characteristics and disaster-causing mechanism of spring maize under drought stress, continuous no-water complementing for 40 days and subsequent rewatering treatments were conducted in jointing (T1) and tasseling (T2) stages of spring maize 'Danyu 39'. In the meantime, leaf and root water potential, main variables associated with photosynthesis including net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conduc-tance (gs), intercellular CO2 concentration(Ci) and stem flow rate (SF) were dynamically observed and the characteristics of their responses to drought and subsequent rehydration were investigated. The results indicated that leaf and root water potential, both presenting logarithm relationships with soil water content, decreased due to suffering from drought stress in different growth stages and the response of the former lagged behind that of the latter. At the same time, the response of leaf (root) water potential to drought stress in tasseling stage was earlier (later) than in jointing stage. For the response of rewatering, leaf water potential for the treatment T1(T2) was (not) able to recover to a certain extent, and could not reach the normal condition, while water potential of root was more responsive and closer to the normal level than that of leaf for the treatment T1. Furthermore, Pn and Tr responded more quickly to the treatment T2 than to the treatment T1. For subsequent rewatering after the treatment T1(T2), both Pn and Tr restored rapidly (slowly) with the former exceeding (returning) and the later being (not) able to reach normal level. Meanwhile, the response of Tr was faster than that of Pn to the treatment T1 and they responded simultaneously to the treatment T2. The response of gs agreed with Pn to drought stress. Change trend of Ci for the treatment T1(T2) was consistent (opposite) with that of Pn. In addition, SFs for various drought treatments and their daily maximums decreased and appeared ahead of time to different extents, respectively. At the same time, the response of SF to drought stress was more sensitive for the treatment T2 than for T1 and on a clear day than on a cloudy day, but the sensibility of SF declined after drought reached a certain level. Besides, SFs for both the treatment T1 and T2 increased as a result of rewatering after drought and the increase for the treatment T1 was larger than that for the treatment T2.

Linking water consumption smart metering with census data to improve demand management

This study uses high-frequency water consumption data from 311 smart meters to link consumption with census data. For this purpose a well-established procedure was adopted. Results include the identification of the socio-demographic profiles associated to low, medium, medium-high and high water consumption groups and distinct daily consumption patterns in terms of the period of the day with maximum consumption: (i) morning period, (ii) morning and lunch period, (iii) dinner period. The main socio-demographic drivers to accurately understand water consumption within their different patterns were identified and refer to the characteristics of the population – rented middle size dwellings, middle size families, average educated (high school level) and professionally active population.

Understanding Water Consumption and Demand in China

The impact factors of the water consumption changes from 1999 to 2002 and from 2002 to 2007 in China are studied with structural decomposition analysis(SDA) model.Firstly, we combine the classical IPAT model with consumer endogenous input-output local closed model, then decompose the impact factors of water consumption changes with the combined model.Secondly, we analyze the direct effect of final demand on water consumption changes. The main results are as follows: (1) At the structural level, the increase of the GDP per capita is the main factor of water consumption increase, the decrease of water use intensity is the main factor of water consumption decrease.(2)At the final demand level, the total final demand change is the main factor of water consumption change, whose effect exceeds water use intensity decrease and the change of technical level. Among the components of final demand, investment is the main factor of water consumption growth, which exceeds the effects of government consumption and net exports.

Prioritizing Use Cases for Water Smart Technology Development: Similarities and Differences from Portugal and UK Case Studies

This paper describes the process of use cases prioritizing by ranking their usefulness to improve water losses, control and water-energy efficiency in networks, to provide new services to the consumer, to improve billing systems and pricing schemes, to improve leak detection and water-energy efficiency and to develop better services to consumers. Results showed that priority use cases were to obtain water consumption data, understand water consumption and assist consumers to increase water use efficiency (consumer domain) and to obtain water and related energy consumption data, understand water consumption and get support to increase operational efficiency (water utility domain).

Factors Affecting Domestic Water Consumption in Rural Households upon Access to Improved Water Supply: Insights from the Wei River Basin, China

Comprehensively understanding water consumption behavior is necessary to design efficient and effective water use strategies. Despite global efforts to identify the factors that affect domestic water consumption, those related to domestic water use in rural regions have not been sufficiently studied, particularly in villages that have gained access to improved water supply. To address this gap, we investigated 247 households in eight villages in the Wei River Basin where three types of improved water supply systems are implemented. Results show that domestic water consumption in liters per capita per day was significantly correlated with water supply pattern and vegetable garden area, and significantly negatively correlated with family size and age of household head. Traditional hygiene habits, use of water appliances, and preference for vegetable gardening remain dominant behaviors in the villages with access to improved water supply. Future studies on rural domestic water consumption should pay more attention to user lifestyles (water appliance usage habits, outdoor water use) and cultural backgrounds (age, education).

Water resource assessment based on the water footprint for Lijiang City

With growing water scarcity and water quality deterioration, water resource assessment has become a major focus of research in many areas of the world. Understanding water consumption and its structure is essential for assessing a city's ability to achieve sustainable water resource utilisation. Based on the concept of the water footprint (WFP), we quantified direct and indirect water consumption in various sectors and used a water stress index (WSI) and water self-sufficiency (WSS) to evaluate the sustainability of water resource use in Lijiang City. The results showed that the WFP of the city in 2008 was 995 Mm3, and that the average WFP per capita was 815 m3, with a WSI of 8.36% and WSS of 100%. Agricultural water use was responsible for 93% of total local water consumption, with 62% for crops and 38% for animals. Lijiang City will face little stress from water resource use in the short term; however, its water use efficiency is relatively low, and the current water resource use is unsustainable in the long term. We recommend the assessment of direct and indirect water use as a necessary step in developing effective water management policies.

Web-based knowledge management system: linking smart metering to the future of urban water planning

The planning of cities and the planning of their water supplies are intertwined. This paper explores the potential role of smart metering for the future of water planning and management in Australian cities. Smart meters for electricity are being rolled out nationally, and while smart meters for water are not yet being implemented at such a scale, they have the capacity to deliver increasing data to planners and residents about patterns of water use. To translate these data to useful information, a Web-Based Knowledge Management System (WBKMS) is proposed that integrates smart metering, end-use water consumption data, wireless communication networks and information management systems in order to provide real-time information on how, when and where water is being consumed for the consumer and utility. Summary data from the system will also be of interest to architects, developers and planners, seeking to understand water consumption patterns across stratified urban samples. An overview of the challenges for developing the WBKMS and an associated research agenda to address current knowledge gaps concludes the paper.