Consumer Perception and Behavior Toward Water Supply,Demand, Water Tariff,Water Quality,and Willingness-To-Pay: A Cross Sectional Study

Urban water management is a critical subject for many developing countries; in Pakistan, urban water management faces challenges from weak regulatory frameworks, financial constraints, service interruptions, ailing infrastructure, rising population and climate change. Under the National Water Policy 2018, focus on urban water management envisions the incorporation of water metering and pricing as a measure to enhance water conservation and build climate resiliency measures. Investigation of the historical context for the capital, Islamabad, revealed failed prior attempts to integrate water metering and pricing. A mixed methods survey, found high dissatisfaction among the residential and commercial sectors for the municipal water service provided by the municipal authorities, with major complaints relating to service interruptions and claims of inequitable water provision. Spending on bottled water, tankers and private groundwater extraction indicated significantly higher willingness-to-pay for the provision of potable tap water; however, the concerns of residential and commercial sector remained lack of trust in municipal water suppliers. Those surveyed from the residential sector noted that the current water rate of PKR 400 was acceptable, despite over 50% of those surveyed spending more than PKR 500 on bottled water and tankers per month. Water conservation strategies remain little explored in terms of enforcement in the city, largely due to lack of market products and awareness among the population. Recommendations for improving water metering and pricing potential and resolving urban water management issues in Pakistan are presented.

     

Sustainable sanitation and water in small urban centres.

The objective of this paper is to review the global trends in urbanization with respect to availability of adequate sanitation and water supply services. Urbanization is unrelenting and rapid increase in the urban population in the less developed countries is of major global concern regarding this topic of sustainable sanitation and water. Most global urban growth is in the smaller cities and in the developing world. Half the urban developing world lacks adequate water and sanitation. Global urban access to waterborne sanitation is not affordable and thus is not a realistic option so alternative approaches are necessary. The treatment of drinking water cannot be a substitute for sanitation. In order to achieve sustainable sanitation, a change in attitude about human excreta and use of water is required. Essential features of a sustainable sanitation system are: containment, sanitisation and recycling. To improve water supply, we need to improve management practices, use full-cost pricing, introduce watershed approaches to protection and provide improved sanitation. Small urban initiatives need to go beyond the traditional sectors and new initiatives are required like on-site urban ecostations, source-separation of urine and faeces, decentralised greywater treatment and integration of sanitation into the cost of housing.     

An assessment of the Spanish national hydrological plan

The paper is a comprehensive review of the Spanish National Hydrological Plan, which proposes to transfer water from the lower part of the Ebro River up to the Levante basins, around 912 km away. The National Hydrological Plan is a conventional, static plan, which focuses primarily on supply management. The plan is based on the explicit assumption that the world will change only incrementally during its entire economic life of 100-200 years. The analysis indicates that much of the increased water demands forecasted are unlikely to materialize due to increasing emphasis on demand management practices, major structural changes in the agricultural sector that will occur by 2020 and the requirements of the Water Directive of the European Union, which must be fulfilled by 2010. Even now, the cost per cubic metre of water delivered at the end of the transfer is nearly twice the cost of desalinated water. The National Hydrological Plan in its present form cannot be justified for economic, environmental and social reasons. In addition, the plan will not be necessary if demand management practices are implemented.     

Probabilistic Water Demand Forecasting Using Projected Climatic Data for Blue Mountains Water Supply System in Australia

Long term water demand forecasting is needed for the efficient planning and management of water supply systems. A Monte Carlo simulation approach is adopted in this paper to quantify the uncertainties in long term water demand prediction due to the stochastic nature of predictor variables and their correlation structures. Three future climatic scenarios (A1B, A2 and B1) and four different levels of water restrictions are considered in the demand forecasting for single and multiple dwelling residential sectors in the Blue Mountains region, Australia. It is found that future water demand in 2040 would rise by 2 to 33 % (median rise by 11 %) and 72 to 94 % (median rise by 84 %) for the single and multiple dwelling residential sectors, respectively under different climatic and water restriction scenarios in comparison to water demand in 2010 (base year). The uncertainty band for single dwelling residential sector is found to be 0.3 to 0.4 GL/year, which represent 11 to 13 % variation around the median forecasted demand. It is found that the increase in future water demand is not notably affected by the projected climatic conditions but by the increase in the dwelling numbers in future i.e. the increase in total population. The modelling approach presented in this paper can provide realistic scenarios of forecasted water demands which would assist water authorities in devising appropriate management strategies to enhance the resilience of the water supply systems. The developed method can be adapted to other water supply systems in Australia and other countries.     

An Econometric Analysis of Residential Water Demand in Cyprus

This paper analyses econometrically residential water demand in the three major urban areas of Cyprus, a semi-arid country with medium to high income levels. Water demand turns out to be inelastic, but not insensitive, to prices; price elasticity is less than unity in absolute terms, but significantly different from zero. The analysis further shows that periodic interruptions in household water supply, which were applied as an urgent water saving measure in 2008–2009, did not encourage water conservation among the population. The paper discusses these results, pointing at the need for appropriate water pricing policies and long-term planning in order to move towards sustainable water resource management.     

我国城镇居民家庭生活需水函数的推求及分析

通过对我国全国及6个区域的城镇居民家庭生活需水函数的建立，分析了在我国进行此类研究的困难，研究了水价、职工平均工资和供水人口对城镇居民家庭生活需水的影响程度。研究结果表明，对需水影响最大的是供水人口，职工平均工资的增长对需水的增加也产生重要的影响。价格对需水的影响并不显著，但在现阶段，价格仍然可以作为一个抑制需求的有效手段。     

Towards the Establishment of Water Management in Abu Dhabi Emirate

The Abu Dhabi Emirate is the largest of the seven emirates that compose the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Parallel to the growth of the country, the Abu Dhabi Emirate has witnessed remarkable development in many aspects of life over the past 35 years. This rapid development into a modern urban environment and the accompanying surge in population, caused by a major influx of foreign labor, have been imposing tremendous pressure on natural resources including water. The challenges of maintaining a sustainable freshwater supply in the Abu Dhabi Emirate are many. Conventional water resources are limited. Surface water is almost absent due to the scarcity of rainfall coupled with arid conditions. Groundwater is mostly brackish and nonrenewable. Over-pumping practices have resulted in a severe decline in groundwater levels and quality. The growing salinity in the ground water has impacted the increased salinity of agricultural land. In addition, water availability and demand are both subject to seasonal fluctuations, particularly during the hot and humid summer months. In the Abu Dhabi Emirate there is a high demand for freshwater used for irrigation of farmland, forests and landscaping; industrial and commercial uses; amenities and domestic use. A large portion of this demand is provided by desalinated water, which is expensive to produce. The need for rational water management is critical. Forecasting water demand is currently being used as the basis for the production expansion planning in order to meet the water demand for the emirate. With steady projected increases, the capacity to provide a continuous supply of freshwater is vital. Interruptions in the supply can be caused by emergencies and the minimum 1-year lead time needed for new desalination plant construction. Having an adequate storage system addresses some of the concerns related to establishing a freshwater supply. The Abu Dhabi Emirate needs long-term storage capacity equivalent to at least 1 year’s fresh water demand. One method of increasing this capacity is artificial recharge using excess produced desalinated water and treated wastewater. While there are currently pilot projects using this technique, more widespread use could be very beneficial. This paper describes the current water resources, water demands and techniques of storing water for future recovery in the emirate through artificial recharge techniques.     

Modeling the Effects of Conservation,Demographics, Price,and Climate on Urban Water Demand in Los Angeles,California

With a service area population exceeding four million people and with close to 90 % of the water supply being imported from sources outside the city, the Los Angeles water system is subject to multiple stressors, including climate change and population growth. The influence of various factors on water demand in Los Angeles was evaluated through development and application of multiple linear regression models for residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental water demand categories from 1970 to 2014 in the service area of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Performance of the models in describing historical water demand was compared using the coefficient of determination, mean average percent error, and normalized root mean square error. Overall, the results of the linear regression models demonstrated that each water demand category is affected by different parameters. However, price and population were found to have the most significant impact on all categories. The seasonality of residential water demand was well described with the model based on monthly data, with precipitation and temperature being highly significant factors. Fitting of the residential data furthermore revealed that price and conservation have significantly counteracted the impact of population growth on water demand.     

Integration of seawater and grey water reuse to maximize alternative water resource for coastal areas: the case of the Hong Kong International Airport

Development, population growth and climate change have pressurized water stress in the world. Being an urbanized coastal city, Hong Kong has adopted a dual water supply system since the 1950s for seawater toilet flushing for 80% of its 7 million inhabitants. Despite its success in saving 750,000 m(3)/day of freshwater, the saline sewage (consisting of about 20-30% of seawater) appears to have sacrificed the urban water cycle in terms of wastewater reuse and recycling. Can seawater toilet flushing be applied without affecting the urban water cycle with respect to sustainable water resource management? To address this issue, we examined the entire urban water cycle and developed an innovative water resource management system by integrating freshwater, seawater and reclaimed grey water into a sustainable, low-freshwater demand, low-energy consumption, and low-cost triple water supply (TWS) system. The applicability of this novel system has been demonstrated at the Hong Kong International Airport which reduced 52% of its freshwater demand.     

An alternative solution of the water shortage problem in Libya

In Libya there is a growing awareness of increasing demand for fresh water while fossil groundwater supply is limited. This situation of water supply has become more problematic with rapidly increasing population and low rainfall. Hence soon after the discovery of fresh groundwater in the deserts of southern Libya, the local authority has made huge efforts to address its water deficit problems, mainly through the implementation of “The Great Manmade River Project” to sustain its economy. Especially the agriculture sector exceeds its traditional supplies. The Libyan authority began to design and install the hydraulic infrastructure needed to withdraw and transport this fossil water to various demand sites along its Mediterranean coast where most of the population lives and where the water is used. There is an over-exploitation of fossil groundwater resources to meet the irrigation demands as a result of adapting a self-sufficing policy in food. Rapid development of agricultural activity, expansion of irrigated areas and over irrigation practices will lead to more depletion of water resources since most of the country's groundwater resources are non-renewable. The supply-driven approach for water management has demonstrated its inability to deliver a substantial degree of water sustainability on the national Libyan level. Despite the strenuous efforts made by the country, it still faces serious water deficits due to continuously increasing water demands beyond the limits of its available water resources. As pressure on water converges on the country's fossil water resources, an immediate reconsideration of agricultural water extractions is needed and appropriate actions have to be implemented in response to its huge consumption. This policy aims at rescuing the present water situation and at avoiding serious environmental and economical crises. Reorganisation of the water consumption pattern, to maintain the country's standard of living and to ensure the economical security for the future generation is drastically needed. This paper considers the country's water management that requires water policy reforms, with emphasis on supply and demand management measures and improvement of the legal and institutional provisions. This could be achieved by reviewing agricultural water policies in order to minimise some local deficits in water resources and to avoid water quality deterioration in the coastal areas. Developing additional non-conventional sources of water supply needs to be considered. This should be supported by creating authorised water institutions lead by a high-professional staff and enabling them in making the appropriate legislation and decisive measurements to allocate water among consumptive sectors as well as to ensure the protection of the environment.     

Water Resource Management in the Mediterranean Basin

In arid and semi-arid regions of the M editerranean, fresh water resources are finite and most of the economically viable development of these resources has already been implemented. The situation has worsened further owing to the increasing population and the associated expansion of urbanization and economic activities, all of which require more water and thus impose a tremen dous strain on this already limited and fragile water resource. Following the traditional technique of increasing supply is questionable. The alternative option is to manipulate the demand side for all water use sectors, particularly the agricultural one, which accounts for up to 80% of water consumption. In the Mediterranean region there is no question about the crucial im portance of integrated demand management aiming at efficiency, equity and long-term water security, using the tools that the legal and econ omic policy, scientific and technological advancement have made available.     

城市化与城市水资源可持续利用研究

我国城市化进程不断加快,城市人口的不断增长使淡水资源供应紧张及水体污染严重,产生一系列生态环境压力,城市水资源可持续利用成为城市可持续发展研究的重要课题之一。本文从城市水资源的有效供给及水环境承载力来论述城市水资源的可持续利用。     

Water demand versus supply in Saudi Arabia: current and future challenges

Saudi Arabia is facing a chronic water-shortage problem. Demand far exceeds the sustainable yield of both conventional and non-conventional water resources. The resulting demand–supply gap is being bridged through groundwater depletion. In this paper, demand–supply gaps for the coming 20 years are projected under three scenarios: optimistic, moderate and pessimistic. Future sustainable water yields are calculated and allocated to projected water demand in the domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors. The study shows that Saudi Arabia will not be able to bridge the demand–supply gap in the near future. Intensive water demand management measures are needed in all sectors to minimize future demand–supply gaps, especially focused on the largest water consumer: the agricultural sector.     

Water-Energy Nexus in Resource-poor Economies: The Indian Experience

The paper examines the nature of water-energy interactions at the level of end users in an economy where the demand for both water and energy exceeds the available supplies of these resources. The paper attempts an assessment of the nature of coping strategies adopted by individuals to deal with shortages/uncertainties/unreliability in the availability of water and energy per se and in inter-linked activities, and to provide indicative estimates of the cost of the prevailing supply scenario. The paper also examines the nature of policy interventions that could help in moving towards bridging the gap between the demand and supply of water and energy, especially in inter-linked activities. The scope of the paper is confined to the agricultural/irrigation and urban water supply sectors. Attempts at bridging the gap between demand and supply of both the resources call for both short-run and long-run solutions. A favourable policy environment, improved management of utilities, better organization and methods of existing infrastructure, metering of consumption, charging of rational tariffs for these services, larger investments in the creation of new capacities and a more active role of the private sector could to a large extent help in narrowing the gap and making the water and energy sectors more sustainable in the long run.     

北京城市供水安全及对策研究

“十一五”期间是首都经济社会快速发展的关键时期，也是应对水资源紧缺、保障供水安全的关键时期。确保首都供水安全是北京水务工作的第一要务，北京市水务局针对城市供水存在的主要矛盾和问题，对城市供水水源、水质水量、水厂、管网、设施等情况进行了全面调查，确定了工作思路，并据此提出了保障城市供水安全的目标和措施。     

Applying water soft path analysis in small urban areas: four Canadian case studies

Water soft paths begin from the vision that future water management has more to gain from reducing demand than from increasing supply. This article reviews three case studies of water soft path analysis in small urban areas in Canada, and one study of an urban planning process incorporating soft path concepts. The analytical studies indicate how communities can avoid the need for expansion of water infrastructure with negligible impacts on lifestyles or livelihoods. The planning study demonstrates that it is possible to introduce water soft paths early in a review, and that this will stimulate more ecologically sensitive thinking among citizens, officials and political leaders. Similar conclusions can be expected from soft path studies in urban areas elsewhere in the developed world.     

Challenges to Urban Water Management in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has an urban population of 22% of the national population living in 1% of its land area in 1985. Coastal lands in the wet zone are thickly populated and demand for water supply is increasing for pipe-borne safe drinking water. Surface drainage and shallow groundwater are purified and distributed for domestic connections and public standposts. Municipal Councils, the National Water Supply & Drainage Board and the Irrigation Department control water resources for the benefit of the residents. Annual new domestic connections are around 100 000 under new projects and the plan is for 100% completion by 2005. The institutional and funding issues are discussed in this paper.     

Integrated Urban Water Resources Management: A Challenge into the 21st Century

The concept of integrated water resources management (IWRM) was introduced in the realm of the International Water Resources Association some 30 years ago. In the context of the urban environment, IWRM requires that management should encompass not only other sectors such as transportation, housing, etc. but also the concurrence of professionals of different disciplines. This paper presents the challenges faced by two metropolitan regions, one in the developed world and one in the developing world. In both cases it is shown that demand management can play a definite role in achieving integrated water management. The complexity of managing the mega-cities of the 21st century will require the creation of a new professional who will be able to coordinate multidisciplinary team work in the water sector.     

Agent-Based Residential Water Use Behavior Simulation and Policy Implications: A Case-Study in Beijing City

Residential water use constitutes a major part of urban water demand, and has be gaining importance in the urban water supply. Considering the complexity of residential water use system, an agent-based social simulation, i.e. the Residential Water Use Model (RWUM), is developed in this paper to capture the behavioral characteristics of residential water usage. By disaggregating total water demands down to constituent end-uses, this model can evaluate heterogeneous consumer responses on water, taking into account the factors of market penetration of water-saving technologies, regulatory policies, economic development, as well as social consciousness and preferences. Also, uncertainty analysis technique is innovatively applied in this agent-based model for parameter calibration and model robust testing. According to the case study in Beijing, this model can provide insights to water management agency in evaluating different water usage polices, as well as estimations for potential water saving for future infrastructure development planning.     

包头市市区居民生活用水量预测分析

用水量预测对区域水资源规划、利用和管理提供重要依据.运用灰色关联度分析法分析包头市市区居民生活用水量影响因素的基础上,分别建立多元线性回归模型、灰色GM(1,1)模型及灰色线性组合模型对该地区2009年和2010年的生活用水量进行预测分析,同时比较了三个模型的预测精度.结果表明:城市居民生活用水量与城市用水人口、人均居住面积和水价的关联度较高;2009年和2010年用水量的预测采用组合灰色模型精度最高,相对误差分别为13.6％％和6.5％,均方根相对误差为10.7％.组合预测模型的预测精度明显优于单一模型,使结果更加准确、合理,符合实际情况.