ASSESSMENT OF WATER REQUIREMENT THROUGH STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING AND DECISION TREES IN URBAN HOUSEHOLDS

The study conducts exhaustive field surveys in 67 wards in Bhubaneswar city, Odisha. 29 factors under 10 aspects have been considered for the study to assess the water requirement per household per day. SEM and CART modeling have been used to estimate the water requirement. The SEM model predicts that 4 aspects, namely, expenses, governance, possession, and resources are the major aspects that decide the water requirement of a household. Similarly, construction and repair costs, energy consumption, reinforcement practices, awareness, presence of a garden, presence of washing machine, presence of other appliances, water charges, and the type of storage majorly affect the water requirement. CART predicts energy consumption, storage, construction and repair, and washing machines to be important estimators with MAPE < 1% for the prediction of water requirement. The study reveals that with proper governance and proper use of water-intensive appliances, the required quantity of water can be decreased in any household. Secondly, by abiding by certain rules while using washing machines, like using them daily or weekly two times, etc., the inequity of water among households can be reduced.