Evaluation of water consumption at district scale by analyzing smart water meter data

Abstract In urbanization, understanding of water consumption is necessary for water supply infrastructure development. We have been studying water consumption at Iride-Chibata District in the development of water supply management in Kosai City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Here the water consumption has been managed by reading water meter at each household every two months. Meanwhile, with the provision of smart metering for electricity, the district has installed the smart meters, which can hourly monitor water consumption, at all of 1,871 households. This study analysed the smart water meter data of all households to evaluate the water consumption at district scale. The average daily water consumption per household was higher on weekends than on weekdays. The hourly consumption showed two peaks at the hours of 7:00 – 11:00, and 18:00 – 22:00, respectively corresponding to morning and evening activities in a household. Either morning or evening, the peaks of weekdays occurred one hour earlier than those of weekends. The evening peaks were higher than the morning ones, that might come from Japanese evening bathing culture. These findings may help for timeframe water supply planning.