Unlocking Water Demand Patterns and Outdoor Consumption Insights for Targeted Conservation Strategies

Water demand management depends on measurements reported at the customer level. The temporal resolution of these measurements affects the demand management strategy a utility may implement to foster conservation. Despite the ongoing coverage of advanced metering infrastructure projects, monthly measurements of water consumption are still the most prevalent datasets utilities possess. In this research, we apply a data-driven analysis to explore water demand patterns and pinpoint large customers using a multiannual demand data set. The analysis identifies a range of high-consumption outdoor users by comparing customers’ demand to a variable threshold calculated as the average monthly demand of the system. By aggregating individual consumption into district areas using local residential division data, we apply a correlation analysis among characteristics of households, such as building area, number of stories, year built, and water demand. Results show that peak consumption can be pinpointed at monthly and seasonal time scales. There is a high positive correlation between districts with large and aging buildings and their water demand. Finally, multiple outdoor users can be identified by using a variable threshold approach across the multiannual water demand data. When analyzing demand during high consumption seasons, we find that outdoor water can contribute to up to 25% of the total demand in specific districts. Water demand management programs can replicate our results to design tailored strategies at different spatial resolutions to implement water conservation strategies.