Domestic water consumption pattern and awareness of urban households

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Increased demand for water has put pressure on the water supply system, which has led to environmental issues such as water resource over-exploitation and ecosystem balance breaks. This study aimed to examine household water consumption trends and management practices and compare the efficacy of various water management interventions to reduce the Batticaloa district’s water deficit. METHODS: The primary data was collected through a questionnaire survey from 300 households belonging to the urban area in Batticaloa District in Manmunai Pattu, Sri Lanka. The data were analyzed using correlation and linear regression analyses. A flow rate study was designed to assess the individual flow rate for each household. FINDINGS: The overall domestic water use is negatively correlated (p ≤ 0.01) with the household head’s age and education level and positively associated with income level. As the household size, age, education level, number of taps, and household income showed statistical significance (p ≤0.05), the Linear regression model was statistically essential. Together, they accounted for 96.5% of the difference in per capita water consumption in the wet season. Moreover, most of the people are not aware of the cost of water per cubic meter and only 26.7% are aware of the cost and 88% of the respondents are more concerned about the quality of water and very few respondents (12%) are not concerned about the water quality. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that more water is used by people with higher incomes in urban areas than people with lower incomes. The use of water depends on household members’ living standards, family size, age, education level, and the number of taps present in the household. Also, most household members are not aware of the efficient use of water in the study area.