Water System Resilience (ARCC-Water)

Lead Research Organisation: Loughborough University
Department Name: Geography

Abstract

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Publications

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Parker J (2012) Quantifying Household Water Demand: A Review of Theory and Practice in the UK in Water Resources Management

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Parker Joanne (2014) Assessing the sensitivity of historic micro-component household water-use to climatic drivers

 
Description The main non-academic beneficiary of this research has been Anglian Water Services (AWS). During the course of the studentship, their Survey of Domestic Consumption (SODCON) 'Golden 100' data set was subject to intense scrutiny, quality assurance and error-trapping. This has led to the creation of a 'clean' data base of customer micro-component water use, and more robust estimates of per capita consumption (PCC) across the sampled household types. Eight micro-components of household water use were analysed: shower; bath; toilet; wash basin; kitchen sink; washing machine; dishwasher; and external tap. These data provide insights into customer behaviours and help AWS to achieve sustainability objectives.

Statistical analysis of the 'Golden 100' water demand data revealed distinct weekly and seasonal patterns of water use that cannot be explained by changing weather patterns alone. Long-term changes in gross water use at inter-annual scales were also detected. These analyses provided insight to the key factors influencing the likelihood of micro-component water use, as well as the water volume consumed. For example, the statistical models were used to estimate the effect of the 2012 hose-pipe ban on regional water use. The analysis showed that the observed reduction in demand following the introduction of the ban could be largely explained by the subsequent cool, wet weather in summer 2012.

The research also contributed to an industry-wide initiative led by UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) Limited to understand links between water demand and weather. The AWS data showed, for example, a significant correlation between air temperatures, sunshine hours and preceding 7 days rainfall with external water use. Other temperature dependent relationships were found for shower water use volumes in unmetered households.
Exploitation Route Please see the attached impact statement from Dr Steve Moncaster, Supply Demand Strategy Manager, Anglian Water Services.
Sectors Environment,Other
 
Description The partner organisation (Anglian Water Services) has benefitted from the research in several ways: (1) Their household micro-component water use data set has been quality assured and cleansed; (2) The strengths and limitations of their survey data are now better understood (from point of collection to synthesis into summary statistics on per capita water demand); (3) The relative significance of weather, socio-economic and behavioural drivers of household water use in Eastern England are now better understood by AWS; (4) Specific insights have been gained into the impact of a hosepipe ban on customer behaviour during the 2012 drought (and subsequent switch to very wet summer conditions).
First Year Of Impact 2012
Sector Environment,Other
Impact Types Economic