Network Effects of Evolving Water Demand Patterns

Water demand management strategies, such as more efficient end-use technology, alternative water resources, and demand response policies have shown promise in reducing consumption and shifting peak demands. Improving demand estimation through smart metering, as well as the potential savings from implementing various demand management strategies on the household, regional, and national scales, have been studied in literature. However, there is a lack of research on how these evolving water demand patterns affect the performance of water distribution networks on a network-wide scale. In this study, three residential demand patterns were used: 1) standard diurnal, 2) flattened demand, representing the response to economic incentives or technological mechanisms, and 3) reduced demand, which models the response to efficient end-use technology and alternative water sources. The network dynamics associated with the three scenarios were investigated using a hydraulic simulator. Four metrics are suggested to assess the network-wide performance in each scenario: water loss, peak flow, water age, and energy loss. Results from simulations using a real-world network indicated that decreased consumption and variance in demand had a negative or negligible impact on water loss and age, but there is a potential for savings in terms of reduced energy losses. The results highlight the implications on water management and planning from the network infrastructure and utility side.