BCLE216L WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

MODULE 7

Demand Management
S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE

Balancing supply and demand-Economic theory of supply and

demand-management by use of tariffs-Timing, long-term,
operational time-frame-Crisis management-Cost of water-Future
trends-Economic value of water-Loss control-Water harvesting

Dr. S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
VIT, VELLORE
[email protected]
 Balancing supply and demand

• Increasing population, climatic change, non availability

of uniform water resources with respect to space and
time are causing issues in water supply and demand.
• Balancing can be achieved only by considering marginal
S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE

costs and increasing tariffs and water consumption can

be limited by physical, sociological or economic means
(instruments).
• Tariff: The occasions when water tariffs need to be
considered will also affect the instrument used to control
usage. During crises (e.g. drought), short-term tariff
increases may be applied, whereas in the longterm, the
average tariff will depend on historical costs and the cost
of new sources.
(Details of tariff can be read from previous chapters)
 Balancing supply and demand by water physical Instruments
• Cutoffs or pressure control by orifices or washers in supply pipes

• Consumers take water uniformly over more hours per day and provide in-
house storage to meet peak consumption by making low pressure.

• Reduce supplies to uneconomical, no longer valued consumers with

S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE

compensation, in preference to newer consumers.

• In the long-term, water-saving plumbing devices could be installed. These

include small and double action cisterns, low-volume showers, and
automatic tap closers.

• Invention of water savings devices such as reuse of basin water for toilet
flushing, not only saves water in that situation, but they make people aware
of water scarcity.

• Curtailing supply over periods of hours could result in higher peaks when
supply is resumed, but this will in turn reduce pressure and therefore peak
drawoff.
 Balancing supply and demand by Sociological methods

• Way of living or legal action.

• Appeals, through the media or on monthly
accounts
• Legal enforcement of water restrictions, in
S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE

associated with fines, can be effective but costly to

apply. It may also mean inspectors checking
consumers, or relying on spying neighbors.
• Then fines would have to be imposed by courts
unless incorporated in water accounts. Such
methods include prohibiting use of water on
gardens on specified days, banning filling
swimming pools.
• Consumer awareness can encourage local reuse of
grey water, e.g. wash-water for gardening.
 Balancing supply and demand by
economic methods
• Economic methods include water tariffs,
metering or charges on discharges.
S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE

Theoretically, the best system would be to

charge prices which reduce the usage to
meet availability.
 MANAGEMENT BY USE OF TARIFFS
If the true value of water to consumers could
be assessed, it may be possible to charge a
limiting tariff. This method could be applied
on a long-term basis or less effectively for
short-term (crisis) demand reduction.
Some consumers may locate their
organization based on indicate water tariffs
but the use of variable tariffs to manage water
during drought, for example, must be
explained and incorporated within the overall
tariff system.
The level of consumption could be decided at
the planning stage, if the cost of assured water
is balanced against the cost to the economy of
rationing. However, the operational basis will
be from a different perspective.
Unfortunately, a uniform tariff cannot be applied in this way to restrict the use of
water, for the poorest sectors of the economy may not be able to meet the tariffs
which would be imposed on industry in order to force them to restrict water.
Therefore, a percentage reduction, or a differential tariff or shadow value may have
to be incorporated.

The tariffs would have to be based on the economic value to all consumers. Dandy
and Connarty (1994) indicate increased tariffs reduce consumption but to a limit.
Hong Kong’s experience with tiered tariffs (Chan, 1997) is that the resulting demand
management is limited

Increasing prices can instead be intended for many purposes, e.g. financing new
schemes, becoming financially self-sufficient or cross-subsidization. These sources
may have a higher operating cost but as they are intermittent it may not be as severe
as long-term usage.

The richer domestic consumer is likely to have most elasticity in demand, but this is
likely to constitute a decreasing proportion of the total. In order to put objectiveness
into water tariffs, Bahl and Linn (1992) suggest a fivepart tariff based on: Variable
costs: Consumption Maintenance Fixed costs: Connection Development Upgrading.
There are other factors which affect water tariffs, e.g.:
• Capital and operating costs
• Opportunity cost
• Time-of-use or peak-load basis (Eskom, 1994)
• Size of property (e.g. Lumgair, 1994)
• Size of connection
• Zoning of district or purpose of use
• Timing of application
• Investment reserve
• Conservation
• Environmental
• Foundation consumers
• Insurance to ensure continuity during shortfalls
• Capacity allocation (Dudley, 1990)
• Tiered
• Cross-subsidization of income groups
 TIMING
There are three stages during which the tariff for water needs consideration. (Table 9.1 summarizes which
methods of demand management are applicable to which occasion.)

Method Crisis management (Drought, Operational time-frame Long-term (Planning and design)
non-payment)

Technical Pressure reduction Scheduled Flow control Metering

supply Orifices Loss control
Valve closure Plumbing devices

Social Appeal Legislation Consumer awareness Education

Social persuasion Advertisements Cross subsidies

Economic Fines Differential tariffs Supply and demand economics.

Punitive measures Trade Marginal prices
 Long-term (planning and design)
Before a water scheme is constructed, the capital cost of the
project is likely to be the most serious economic consideration.
Average running costs will be added to discounted capital cost of
dams and conduits for alternative schemes in order to select the
most economical alternative.
If rationing is to be considered at this stage as an alternative to
larger resource schemes, the true economic cost to the consumers
due to shortfall also needs to be included. (This is not the same as
the income to the water supplier which may even increase due to
punitive tariffs during shortfall.)
When new water schemes are being considered, the cost of the
scheme and consequently the average cost of water to consumers
is the prime criterion. This section is concerned with the
reliability of supply during drought, and typically the more
reliable the surface source.
 Operational time-frame
Once the scheme (e.g. dam and waterworks) is built, its cost does not feature in
operational optimization. The object of the new optimization exercise is to
minimize economic loss due to restrictions.
After a water scheme is commissioned, the perspective changes and day-to-day,
as well as annual, supply rates change. Each year, the tariff may be revised as the
supply rate increases, and hence the tariff could be reduced if it were solely to
meet fixed repayment costs.
An operational policy for reservoirs may be designed to enable water to be
conserved during drought. The control of usage could be by tariffs. The tariff may
be consumer orientated, i.e. lower tariffs for the poor, higher for the rich, or
industry.
The objective of the water works should be to cover costs. They should not
unduly be enriched, by charging marginal costs or basing tariffs on what the
market will pay. There may also be a planning component and a stabilizing
component in the tariff.
The consumer on the other hand is entitled to minimize his costs. He may seek
alternative sources of water, or insure himself against shortfalls. Industry and
agriculture would suffer real losses if water was restricted or charged at an
uneconomic rate.
He may store water, or trade it, or purify and reuse wastewater. The trading or
reselling or buying water could affect the water works efforts in the short term so
the supplier needs to think of similar saving measures.
Generally an operating cost intensive source will be retained as a standby, as the
costs may not be incurred. Such schemes could include recycling or boreholes.
Capacity allocation is not a tariff-based method of controlling water usage
provided there is some other way of controlling the volumes used. There are a
number of other methods for controlling water use during periods of shortfall or
crisis. Or example, public appeal has been resorted to with limited success. There
are also methods of physically restricting supply of water by control valves,
orifices and pressure reduction.
The latter have been employed with roof tanks so that consumers can draw at peak
rates while inflow is restricted. It may also be that the consumer could find
alternatives to restrictions or paying higher tariffs. He may seek alternatives such
as groundwater. These sources may have a higher operating cost, but as they are
intermittent it may not be a severe penalty. This is efficient conjunctive use of
alternative resources.
 Crisis Management
When there is a shortage at the source, e.g. during a drought, then there could be
rationing (Controlled distribution of scarce resources )of water, but at the same time
the authorities have to meet fixed costs. The tariff may have to be increased.
Assuming that an emergency has arisen in the way of drought or some other reason
for inability to supply water, then the method of restricting water consumption
could be based on an economic system as follows:
Penalties or punitive tariffs
Higher tariffs could be charged for total consumption if consumption is above a
set figure (Davis, 1995). Alternatively, a marginal penalty could be applied for
consumption above a certain figure. This method is not guaranteed to reduce
consumption correctly because the supplier has not necessarily estimated the
value of water to the consumer.
Purchase system
If there were a free market, then consumers could bargain amongst themselves to
purchase different allocations of water.
Shortfall surcharge
Due to lower sales figures by the water authority, they may have to increase
tariffs in some way to meet their costs which cannot all be reduced in proportion
 THE COST OF WATER
To control use of water by means of tariffs requires estimating the marginal
value of water as well as the marginal cost. The components which make up the
supply cost of water include :-
Capital costs
Operating costs
Quality control, purification, pressure maintenance, supply rate including
back-up for droughts
Funding of indirect projects such as redistribution of wealth or national
improvement in health and economy
Deterrents (a thing that discourages) for conserving resources such as a
premium to reduce usage of water
Community funding including training
Reserves for future expansion and to ensure continuity of supply or jobs
To cross-fund, e.g. other department’s shortfalls, or redistribution of charges.
The historical basis on which tariffs are calculated is generally the cost
of supplying the water
However, there is the possibility of charging for water before it has
been controlled or tapped by man.
If the resource is mined, such as the use of groundwater at a rate greater
than the natural replenishment rate, then there may be a long-term cost
to the environment.
The historical cost has been the one most commonly used for
establishing water tariffs (Palmer Development Group, 1994).
The income from water tariffs is used to meet the costs of repaying
loans, operation, maintenance, fuel, management and often a fund for
future expansion.
A deviation from this method of costing is the marginal cost basis.
Based on the fact that additional augmentation costs more than the
original source of water, new users may have to pay more.
If the total income from tariffs is only to meet average costs, then it is
purely a financial calculation.
The cost of water is not static even though historical costs may be
constant, until the loans are repaid.
There is also inflation of prices causing the unit cost to increase. Policy
factors may also cause increasing cost to some of the consumers.
There may also be cost increases of a temporary nature due to limited
sales, for example during drought, which means that the unit price must
be increased to meet certain fixed costs.
Historical water costs vary enormously throughout the world, and it is
difficult to compare them internationally.
The cost of municipal water in Europe and North America is of the
order of $5/m^3 . In South Africa, it is less than $ 0.50c/m^3, and in
some regions in Africa, it is sometimes free.
WATER LOSS CONTROL
By – Ayush singh(21BEC0664)
Department of Electronic and Communication

Dr. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI S

Associate Professor
Department of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
 Causes of water loss
older reticulation pipe systems
Excess use irrigation systems
Water running for no reason(open taps)
Clogged Gutters and Downspouts
Burst Pipes
Air Conditioner
physical factors affecting the loss rate
Pipe age and material
Corrosive protection, internal and external
Wall thickness, pressure class
Jointing systems
External damage
Maintenance
 WATER LOSS DETECTION
Night flow measurement - Night Flow Analysis can be used to
determine the differences in consumer night use and water loss
for a defined area. Differences in nighttime flow rates between
2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m can assist in determining water leak
quantities in a district-metered area.
Step pressure/flow measurement - Flow Measurement is the
process of measuring fluid in your plant or industry. You can
measure flow through a variety of different devices such as
Coriolis, differential pressure, vortex, magnetic, ultrasonic,
turbine and positive displacement meters.
Visual inspection- inspection with the naked eye
Seismic refraction – level of water can be assessed by sending
sound waves made by hitting a metal plate.
Resistivity surveys
methods to reduce losses of water

Passive maintenance (repairs when notified of leaks)

Active maintenance (vigilant inspection programme)
Monitoring
Pressure reduction by valves
Metering
Education of consumers
Water loss
ByAnkitkumar
regno.21bme0457
Introduction

•Definition of water loss

• Water loss means a loss of water from the basin from which it is
withdrawn as a result of interbasin diversion or con- sumptive use
or both.
•Importance of water conservation
• Conserving water saves energy
 Types of water loss
• Physical losses (leaks, evaporation)
• Non-physical losses (unauthorized use, meter
inaccuracies)
Causes of physical water loss
• Aging infrastructure
• Corrosion
• Natural disasters
• Human error
Effects of physical water loss
• Financial losses
• Decrease in water pressure
• Contamination risks
Detection of physical water loss
• Flow monitoring(local point velocity)
• Pressure monitoring(works on pressure)
• Acoustic leak detection(noisy leaks)

Prevention of physical water loss

• infrastructure maintenance and replacement
• Leak detection programs
• Water-efficient appliances and fixtures

Causes of non-physical water loss

• Theft
• Meter tampering
• Billing errors
Conclusion
Water loss should be minimized for sustainable development
We should all take the action which we can do on our behalf to
minimize the water loss
S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE
Rainwater Harvesting
 Types of Rainwater Harvesting
1. Water Butt
One of the most basic types of rainwater harvesting systems; water Butt
collects rainwater in a container from natural rainfall and/or drain pipes.
The collected water is used mainly for watering the garden.
2. Direct-Pumped
• Another very common and professional type of rainwater harvesting.
S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE

• Submersible – Used particularly in domestic settings and is the

easiest systems to install. The pump is placed within the underground
tank and the harvested water is pumped directly to WCs or other
appliances used daily for domestic purposes.
• Suction – In this system, the pump is located within the control unit
of the house (e.g. utility room). This unit also deals with backup from
the mains water supply, hence there is no need to direct mains water
down to the underground tank.
• Most rainwater harvesting systems need pumps to transfer the
collected rainwater from storage tanks to the point of use.
Submersible pumps are generally more efficient than suction pumps
and do not suffer from the same limitations.
 3. Indirect Pumped
• This type of rainwater harvesting system doesn’t rely on gravity to supply
water to the outlets. Instead, it pumps the harvested water to a tank which
can be at any level in the building. Furthermore, a booster pump is used to
provide a pressurized water supply. One of the most significant benefits of
this system is that it offers great flexibility to tailor the booster pumps to
adjust the flow and pressure requirements of a building.
S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE

4. Indirect Gravity
• This system ensures water is supplied to the outlets by gravity alone. For
this, the harvested water is first pumped to the header tank, i.e. high-level
tank and then allowed to free-flow. In Indirect gravity systems, the pump
works only to fill the header tank.
5. Gravity Only
• In few conditions, a system which functions purely through gravity may be
needed. Such systems do not demand pumps hence involves no energy use.
With such an arrangement, water can be collected only when collection tanks
are located below the level of gutters, yet higher than the outlets which it will
supply. Here the only power of gravity is needed to feed collected and
harvested water to various parts of the household. Gravity only is one of the
most energy-efficient rainwater harvesting systems.
 6. Retention Ponds
• Retention ponds are used to collect surface runoff water and improve
the quality of water by natural processes like sedimentation,
decomposition, solar disinfection, and soil filtration. This type of
pond normally has a mud bottom, but in some cases, it may be lined
with concrete. The most common use of water collected and
S.PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT VELLORE

harvested by pond harvesting is watering livestock, however, it can

also be used for groundwater recharge, irrigation or any other purpose
other than potable uses.
7. In-Ground Storage
• Underground storage tanks are very popular in areas where the
majority of rainfall occurs in one single season. These underground
tanks are insulated and have a very low rate of evaporation. In
addition, the water stored in these doesn’t freeze if it is buried below
the frost line, this is a huge advantage that surface storage tanks do
not offer. Underground tanks need to be connected to an electric
pump to ensure supply of the stored water to the outlets.
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