Trend analysis of domestic water consumption depending upon social, cultural, economic parameters

Designs of water distribution systems and water resources planning and management can be obtained from a comprehensive investigation and analysis of water consumption data in real life systems. Water consumption patterns for domestic purposes were monitored at 145 households over a three-year period. Electric flow meters were installed at the ends of all of the household water taps. Water consumption patterns were analyzed to configure the water demand trends for social and cultural factors. Economic factors such as monthly income and the area of the floor plan were investigated to determine the impact of resident wealth on the patterns of water consumption. Water use data collected by a public water resources management firm in Korea, Kwater, had been filtered using both physical and probabilistic criteria to improve the credibility of the analysis. Both the Mann-Kendall and Spearman's Rho tests were used to perform the trend analysis. Distinct factors in the patterns of water consumption can be determined to cause both increasing and decreasing trends in water use. Analysis of this data provides the basis of parameter configuration for a reasonable design of a domestic water-demand prediction model.