Many private households spend considerable amounts of time accessing water, for instance by walking to and queuing at public access points, or by filling storage vessels at taps with low flow rates. This time has an opportunity cost, which can be substantial and may impact which water services and quantities of water households demand. In a novel form of diary study, we gathered detailed water consumption and time use data from 50 households in five informal settlements of the Indian metropolis Pune, accompanied by a household survey and in-depth interviews. With the data, we characterize water collection behaviors and assign monetary values to water procurement time. We statistically analyze the effects of time cost on consumed quantities in several two-level mixed effect models. Household members in our sample spend up to several hours each day filling storage vessels, even if a private connection to the piped network is available. Average time cost amounted to the equivalent of 4.23–13.81% of monthly household cash income. Our analyses indicate that procurement time reduces quantitative water demand in a significant way. The households incurring the highest per-unit time cost consumed water quantities below minimum levels recommended for human health. This substantiates that time costs can impede access to water and are a relevant issue for water management and policy.

No description available.

no / There is widespread agreement among agencies governing UK water management that more extensive domestic water metering combined with additional measures will deliver a more efficient domestic water usage. This paper argues that qualitative research is needed to select and hone additional measures. According to theory, cooperation to reduce water use is more likely if people: a) believe in the necessity to reduce use; b) feel costs are fairly shared; and c) believe their actions can affect the situation. The case study of Lydd, Kent, is presented. Lydd is the first location in which compulsory water metering has been imposed in the UK. Qualitative information was collected to inform the communication strategies being implemented by the water supply company. The investigation found that none of the three factors predicted by theory were completely present. The paper concludes by providing some recommendations for improving the water company's communications strategy for encouraging a reduction in domestic water use. The key role of qualitative information in assisting in the targeting and design of water demand management programmes is highlighted.

The need for a more sustainable approach to water consumption has increasingly gained attention in the last decade. The domestic sector accounts for over half of abstracted water in the UK and, as such, has become a major target for water efficiency interventions. Current research and water efficiency interventions are dominated by a positivist approach, focusing on a limited range of factors that can be quantitatively measured. This thesis questions the dominant approach and argues that a more holistic overview of water efficiency can be achieved through the consideration of socio-technical and behavioural theories. Taking a more constructivist approach, this research draws on four theories from socio-technical and behavioural fields and combines them to create a framework for the analysis of water efficiency interventions. The framework is applied to two case studies, exploring water users¿ perceptions of water, water supply, personal water use, and their responses to the water efficiency interventions. The case studies were selected to provide examples of current mainstream approaches to water demand management. Research methods used included semi-structured interviews and observation. The research findings support the argument that the current dominant approach to domestic water efficiency interventions is limited and, in some cases, ineffectual. Issues of trust, knowledge, motivation and the relationships between water users and water companies were raised. The thesis concludes that the use of a constructivist perspective could help to provide a more effective approach to understanding and improving water demand management.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The Rappahannock River Basin Commission is undergoing a collaborative water supply planning process for Virginia's Rappahannock River Basin. Participants in the planning process have indicated an interest in technical information about the possible impact conservation programs may have on reducing residential water demand. The potential influence of conservation programs is identified through a literature synthesis and a statistical analysis of residential water demand for a locality within the basin (Stafford County). In the literature synthesis, conservation programs are classified as voluntary or mandatory. Voluntary programs utilize financial incentives (such as water pricing and rebates) or educational incentives (such as radio ads and bill inserts) to encourage conservation, and mandatory programs utilize regulatory incentives (such as plumbing standards and bans on outdoor water use). The water demand statistical model was estimated to more specifically identify how Stafford residential water customers respond to water pricing/rate structure changes (financial incentives), imposition of federal regulations on plumbing standards (regulatory incentives), and a voluntary conservation program utilizing educational incentives. The results indicate that while many studies have found residential customers are responsive to price changes, Stafford residential water users have not significantly changed their water demand in response to price/rate structure changes. Previous literature also suggests federal plumbing standards potentially have a significant impact on water demand. The influence of new plumbing standards in the Stafford demand model was inconclusive and warrants further analysis. Consistent with the literature, voluntary conservation programs utilizing educational incentives alone did not substantially alter residential water demand in Stafford County. / Master of Science

Of the factors that determine development potential in a given geographic area, the availability of water for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes is a primary indication of prospective growth. Governmental bodies at the regional, state and federal levels often need to identify water supply availability in order to identify growth potential. To address this need, a procedure for the preliminary assessment of water supply availability has been developed that can potentially be applied to any geographic area in the United States. The procedure uses the USGS demand cataloging unit as the basic planning area, with supply estimates from streamflow parameters at USGS gage locations and demand estimates from USGS demand reports. By comparing known supply and demand estimates in a base year, an overview of water supply availability in the region can be determined. With supply and demand data in a base year, projections of future water supply availability can then be made. Detailed projection of future water demand must account for changes in the amount of water use activities and the rates of water use within those activities, but a simplified procedure is applied here. Total offstream water use is averaged over the population in the base year to determine per-capita offstream use, which is assumed to remain constant in the future in this preliminary assessment procedure. Population is then projected and demand is forecast as a function of the projected population. The supply quantity is projected assuming each flow parameter derived from the historical record will remain constant in the future year. By comparing projected supply and demand estimates, water supply availability in future years can be anticipated in the planning area. / Master of Science

The study investigates the contribution of WDM towards mitigating scarcity of potable water in cities with particular reference to Bulawayo.WDM origins and its successes are traced. The study classifies scarcity representations into four categories and reveals that the scarcity in Bulawayo satisfies all the four representations hence calls it total scarcity. The research employed document study, questionnaires, interviews and a focus group to collect data. Document study revealed that water restrictions successfully mitigate the scarcity in Bulawayo. Field work partially confirmed the usefulness of WDM in the life of the city and revealed the need to synchronize the conceptualizations of WDM among different stakeholders in order for the paradigm to do even more in terms of mitigating scarcity. The results were interpreted in terms of TPB. The key recommendation of the study is that the city invests in water use behaviour change in order to realise huge water savings. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)