Micro-components survey of residential indoor water consumption in Chiang Mai

Abstract

The direct measurement of the micro-components of water consumption (i.e., consumption by each residential activity, such as toilet-, laundry-, bath-, and kitchen-use), both in the dry season and in the rainy season, was conducted in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was expected that rainfall differences between the dry and rainy season would influence awareness for water resources so that water consumption in the dry season would be smaller than that in the rainy season. In addition, it was examined whether the differences in water resources such as public waterworks or non-public waterworks (i.e., community waterworks, mountainous water and groundwater), affected the amount of water use. A small-sized accumulative water meter was developed for measurement. This survey provides important information for water demand estimations and water supply planning in middle-developed countries where water consumption is expected to increase in future.