The effectiveness of water conservation measures on summer residential water use in Los Angeles, California

Social and behavioral research is crucial for securing environmental sustainability and improving human living environments. Although the majority of people now live in urban areas, we have limited empirical evidence of the anticipated behavioral response to climate change. Using empirical data on daily household residential water use and temperature, our research examines the implications of future climate conditions on water conservation behavior in 501 households within the Portland (OR) metropolitan region. We ask whether and how much change in ambient temperatures impact residential household water use, while controlling for taxlot characteristics. Based on our results, we develop a spatially explicit description about the changes in future water use for the study region using a downscaled future climate scenario. The results suggest that behavioral responses are mediated by an interaction of household structural attributes, and magnitude and temporal variability of weather parameters. These findings have implications for the way natural resource managers and planning bureaus prepare for and adapt to future consequences of climate change.

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Residential Water Use Trend Shifts by Implementation of Best Management Practices for Water Conservation

World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2011 ◽

10.1061/41173(414)335 ◽

2011 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Lee ◽

B. Tansel ◽

M. Balbin ◽

B. Barney

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Best Management ◽

Residential Water Use ◽

Residential Water

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Estimating the impact of climate change on residential water use using panel data analysis: a case study of Lilongwe, Malawi

Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development ◽

10.2166/washdev.2017.056 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 217-226 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Chikondi Makwiza ◽

Musandji Fuamba ◽

Fadoua Houssa ◽

Heinz Erasmus Jacobs

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Linear Models ◽

Panel Data Analysis ◽

Empirical Relationship ◽

Residential Water Use ◽

The Impact ◽

Residential Water ◽

Emissions Scenario

Abstract In this study, panel linear models were used to develop an empirical relationship between metered household water use and the independent variables plot size and theoretical irrigation requirement. The estimated statistical model provides a means of estimating the climate-sensitive component of residential water use. Ensemble averages of temperature and rainfall projections were used to quantify potential changes in water use due to climate change by 2050. Annual water use per household was estimated to increase by approximately 1.5% under the low emissions scenario or 2.3% under the high emissions scenario. The model results provide information that can enhance water conservation initiatives relating particularly to outdoor water use. The model approach presented utilizes data that are readily available to water supply utilities and can therefore be easily replicated elsewhere.

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Advances in the Economic Analysis of Residential Water Use: An Introduction

Water ◽

10.3390/w10091162 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1162 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Arnaud Reynaud ◽

Giulia Romano

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Water Demand ◽

Water Price ◽

Special Issue ◽

Residential Water Demand ◽

Residential Water Use ◽

Household Water ◽

The Impact ◽

Residential Water

The aim of this Special Issue is to gather evidence on the impact of price policies (PP) and non-price policies (NPP) in shaping residential water use in a context of increased water scarcity. Indeed, a large body of the empirical economic literature on residential water demand has been devoted to measuring the impact of PP (water price increases, use of block rate pricing or peak pricing, etc.). The consensus is that the residential water demand is inelastic with respect to water price, but not perfectly. Given the low water price elasticity, pricing schemes may not always be effective tools for modifying household water behaviors. This is puzzling since increasing the water price is still viewed by public authorities as the most direct economic tool for inducing water conservation behaviors. Additional evidence regarding the use of PP in shaping residential water use is then required. More recently, it has been argued that residential consumers may react to NPP, such as water conservation programs, education campaigns, or smart metering. NPP are based on the idea that residential water users can implement strategies that will result in water savings via changing their individual behaviors. Feedback information based on smart water metering is an example of approach used by some water utilities. There are still large gaps in the knowledge on the residential water demand, and in particular on the impact of PP and NPP on residential water use, household water affordability and water service performance. These topics are addressed in this Special Issue “Advances in the Economic Analysis of Residential Water Use”.

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Advancing open source cyberinfrastructure for collecting, processing, storing and accessing high temporal resolution residential water use data

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6031 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco ◽

Jeffery S. Horsburgh ◽

Joseph C. Brewer ◽

Robb J. Tracy ◽

Juan Caraballo

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Open Source ◽

Water Use ◽

Temporal Resolution ◽

Water Conservation ◽

High Temporal Resolution ◽

Base System ◽

Technical Requirements ◽

Residential Water Use ◽

Residential Water

<p>Collecting and managing high temporal resolution (< 1 minute) residential water use data is challenging due to cost and technical requirements associated with the volume and velocity of data collected. It is well known that this type of data has potential to expand our knowledge of residential water use, inform future water use predictions, and improve water conservation strategies. However, most studies collecting this type of data have been focused on the practical application of the data (e.g., developing and applying end use disaggregation algorithms) with much less focus on how the data were collected, retrieved, quality controlled, and managed to enable data visualization and analysis. We developed an open-source, modular, generalized cyberinfrastructure system to automate the process from data collection to analysis. The system has three main architectural components: first, the sensors and dataloggers for water use monitoring; second, the data communication, parsing and archival tools; and third, the analyses, visualization and presentations of data produced for different audiences. For the first component, we present a low-cost datalogging device, designed for installation on top of existing, analog, magnetically driven, positive displacement, residential water meters that can collect data at a user configurable time resolution interval. The second component consists of a system developed using existing open-source software technologies that manages the data collected, including services and databasing. The final element includes software tools for retrieving the data that can be integrated with advanced data analytics tools. The system was used in a single family residential water use data collection case study to test the scalability and performance of its functionalities within our design constraints. Testing with a base system configuration, our results show that the system requires approximately six minutes to process a single day of data collected at a four second temporal resolution for 500 properties. Thus, the system proved to be effective beyond the typical number of participants observed in similar studies of residential water use and would scale well beyond this even with the modest system resources we used for testing. All elements of the cyberinfrastructure developed are freely available in open source repositories for re-use.</p>

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Patterns and controlling factors of residential water use in Los Angeles, California

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2014.029 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. 1054-1069 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

C. Mini ◽

T. S. Hogue ◽

S. Pincetl

Keyword(s):

Los Angeles ◽

Water Use ◽

High Water ◽

Water Pricing ◽

Controlling Factors ◽

Water Users ◽

Residential Water Use ◽

Tier 1 ◽

Household Water ◽

Residential Water

The current study evaluates residential water use patterns and driving factors across Los Angeles, California. Ten years of monthly residential water data were obtained from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Socio-economic, vegetation characteristics, climate, and water pricing data were utilized to develop a statistical model to determine controlling factors of single-family residential water use. Key drivers were found to be household income, landscape greenness, water pricing, household volume allocation, precipitation and temperature. Results show that low water users are less sensitive to climate variability than high water users, likely because these customers have reduced outdoor water use. In the lower income group, average household size is a predictor for household water consumption, which increases with more residents. Lower water users are also more sensitive to changes in their first level household water allocation (Tier 1). However, low, medium and high water users all respond more to changes in the Tier 1 rate than the Tier 2 rate, and generally reduce consumption if this block rate is increased.

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