Quantity of Water

ƒThe first & foremost duty of an engineer to assess amount of water

available and qty of water demanded by the public
ƒNext step is to find out sources to fulfill the demand
ƒDuring planning a W/S scheme, we have evaluate total yearly water
demand & to assess the required avge rates of flow (or draft) and the
variations in these rates.
ƒ The following quantities are, assessed and recorded:
(i) Total annual volume (V) in litres or million litres.
(ii) Annual average rate of draft in litres per day, i.e. V/365.
(iii) Annual average rate of draft in litres per capita per day
lpcd, called per capita demand (q)
Fluctuations in demand expressed in terms of % ratios of max
& min yearly/monthly/daily or hourly rates to their
corresponding average values.

water demand 1

Types of water demands,

which a city may have, following types:
ƒDomestic water demand;
ƒ Industrial water demand;
ƒ Institution and commercial water demand ,
ƒDemand for public uses
ƒFire demand
ƒWater required to compensate losses in wastes and thefts.
ƒDomestic Water Demand.
This includes the water required in private buildings for drinking, cooking,
bathing, lawn sprinkling gardening, sanitary purposes, etc.

water demand 2
Industrial Water Demand.
•This is the water demand of Existing or upcoming industries, to be
started in future, in the city
•Quantity depend on No(s) & type industries present in the city.
• Per capita consumption on account of industrial needs of a city is
generally taken as 50 lpcd, which may suffice only to meet the
water demand of small scattered/ small industries, with-out
catering to larger industries.
•Separate provision will have to be made to meet the water demand
of such large industries / special category industries
•Their demand is to be assessed on the basis of the nature of
products and magnitude of each industry, and the quantity of
water required per unit of production presented in the next table
• The potential for industrial expansion should also be investigated,
so that the availability of water supply may attract such industries,
and add to economic prosperity of the community.

water demand 3

water demand 4
. Institutional and Commercial Water Demand
ƒRequirements of water for institutions, such as hospitals, hotels,
restaurants, schools and colleges, railway stations, offices, factories, etc.
should also be assessed and provided for, in addition to domestic demand
ƒThis quantity will certainly vary with the No, and types institutions / other
commercial establishments present in the city
ƒ20.0 lpcd is usually considered to be enough to meet such commercial and
institutional water requirements

water demand 5

Demand for Public Uses.

ƒThe quantity of water required for public utility purposes, such as
watering of public parks, gardening, washing and sprinkling on
roads, use in public fountains, etc.
ƒ A figure of 10 lpcd is usually added on this account, while
computing total water requirement

water demand 6
Fire Demand

water demand 7

water demand 8
water demand 9

water demand 10
Water Required to Compensate
Losses in Thefts and Wastes.
This includes the water lost in leakage due to
¾ Bad plumbing
¾ Damaged meters
¾ Stolen water due to unauthorized water connection
¾ Other losses and wastes
¾ These losses should be taken into account while
estimating the total requirements
¾ These losses can be reduced by careful maintenance
and universal metering
¾ Even in the best managed water works, this amount
may, however, work to be as high as 15% of the total
consumption.
water demand 11

Factors Affecting Per Capita Demand

1.Size of the City

2.Climatic Conditions
3. Types of Gentry and Habits
4.Industrial and Commercial Activities
5. Quality of Water Supplies
6. Pressure in the Distribution System
7.Development of Sewerage Facilities
8.System of Supply.
9.Cost of Water
10.Policy of Metering and Method of Charging

water demand 12
1. Size of the City
¾ Water demand for big cities is more compared to smaller towns because in big
cities require more to maintain clean and healthy environments.
¾ Bigger cities are generally sewered, and as such require large amount of water &
also industrial activities are generally more, thus- requiring more water.
¾ Sometimes smaller town may have higher consumption, if it is fully industrialised
¾ The per capita demand for Indian towns may vary with the population
2. Climatic Conditions.
¾ At hotter and dry places, the consumption of water is generally more for bathing,
cleaning, air conditioning, sprinkling in lawns, gardens, roofs, etc are involved.
¾ Also in extremely cold countries, more water may be consumed, because the people
may keep their taps open to avoid freezing of pipes, and there may be more leakage
from pipe joints since metals contract with cold.
3. Types of Gentry and Habits of People
¾ Rich and upper class communities generally consume more water due to their
affluent living standards & Middle class communities consume average amounts,
while the poor slum dwellers consume very low amounts.
¾ The amount of water consumption thus directly dependent upon the economic
status of the consumers.
water demand 13

4. Industrial and Commercial Activities.

¾ The cities having more industrial & commercial activities may increase water
consumption.
¾ Many industries require huge amounts of water & increases water demand
¾ More # industries situated in bigger cities, may increase water demand
¾ However, for a properly planned zoned city, the water requirement can be
evaluated by considering industrial & commercial demands separately
5. Quality of Water Supplies
¾ If the quality and taste of the tap water is good, it will be consumed more,
¾ Because in that case, people will not use other sources such as private wells, hand
pumps but prefer tap water.
6. Pressure in the Distribution System
If the pressure in the distribution pipes is high to make the water reach at 3rd floor
water consumption may be more. Water demand may increase due to:
(i) In upper storeys people will use more water as compared to the case when less Qty.
would have been available to them because of less pressure
(ii) The losses and wastes due to leakage will be more if pressure is high e.g. if pressure
raises from 20 to 30 m head of water, the losses increase by 20- 30%

water demand 14
(7) Development of Sewerage Facilities.
As pointed out earlier, the water consumption will be more, if the city is
provided with flush system in the sewerage network in compare to
conservancy system of latrines
(8) System of Supply.
¾ Water supplied either continuously for all 24 hours of the day, or may be
supplied only for peak periods during the morning and evening.
¾ The second system, i.e. the intermittent supplies, may lead to some saving in
consumption due to losses occurring for lesser time
The intermittent supplies may not give much saving because of the following :
¾ In intermittent supply system, water is generally stored by consumers in
tanks, drums, utensils, etc, for non-supply periods.
¾ This water is thrown away by them even if unutilised as soon as the fresh
supply is restored. This increases the wastage considerably.
¾ People have a general tendency to keep the taps open during non-supply
hours, so that they may come to known of it as soon as the supply is
restored. Many a times, water goes on flowing unattended even after the
supply is restored, thus resulting in wastage of water.

water demand 15

9) Cost of Water.
¾ If the water rates are high, lesser quantity may be consumed by the
people.
(10) Policy of Metering and Method of Charging.
Water tax is generally charged in two different ways:
(a) On the basis of meter reading (meters fitted in the individual
connections & recording the volume of water consumed).
(b) On the basis of certain fixed monthly flat rate.
when the charges are fixed, people generally do not practice economy
because they think that they have to pay only a fixed amount irrespective of
the quantity of water used by them that leads to higher consumption of
water.
When the supplies are metered, people use only that much of water as
much is required by them.
Although metered supplies are preferred because of lesser wastage they
generally lead, to lesser water consumption by poor and low Income groups,
leading to unhygienic conditions.
Moreover, meters put unnecessary hindrance to the flow, resulting in
loss of pressure and increased cost of pumping. Meters are also liable to be
stolen and the cost of installing, repairing etc
water demand 16
 Factors Affecting Losses and Wastes
¾Enormous amount of good water is lost in leakages, wastes, thefts, etc., in
every water supply scheme.
¾To control these losses to minimum it is desirable to thoroughly study the
factors on which these losses depend Those factors are :
(i)Water Tight Joints.
¾The joints in the water mains and pipes generally leak due to bad
plumbing, leading to high wastage of water.
¾The leakage of water can be reduced by careful and better plumbing with
constant maintenance, and thereby keeping the joints water tight
¾The meters when installed in individual house connections should also
periodically checked, so as to ensure that they do not leak
(ii) Pressure in the Distribution System.
¾High pressure in the distribution pipes leads to higher leakage losses. So
much so that an increase in pressure from 20 m to 30 m head of water may
increase the leakage by about 20-30 %.
¾To reduce leakage we should keep pressure in pipes to a minimum
possible value (say only upto 2-3 storey height). Multi-storeyed units should
develop their own storage.

water demand 17

(iii) System of Supply

In intermittent system of supplies, the leakage losses are reduced
since they do not occur for all the 24 hours but occur only for a few hours
during the period the supply is restored.
However, it cannot be said with certainty that intermittent supply
reduces losses, because in that case, people generally waste more water by
throwing the old stored water and also by leaving their taps open, as
explained earlier.
(iv) Metering.
When the supplies are metered, wastage is considerably reduced,
because people become more careful in using water, as they have to pay for
the volume of water consumed by them.
(v) Unauthorised Connections.
Water is sometimes stolen through unauthorised connections, which
must be detected and checked by heavily punishing the defaulters, so as to
keep the losses to minimum

water demand 18
 Variations in Demand & effect on Design of Components of W/S Scheme
¾ Per capita demand, defined as the annual average daily consumption per person
• There are wide variations in the use of water in different seasons, in different months of
the year, different days of the month, in different hours of the day, and even different in
every minute of the hour.
• Seasonal variations occur due to larger use of water in summer season lesser use in
winter, and much less in rainy season.
• Diurnal variations reflect household activity. E.g. water consumption is more on
Sundays and holidays, on days of dust storms,
• The hourly variations are depend on the consumption of water different sessions like
morning & afternoon as shown in the plot below

water demand 19

These normal variations in the demand or draft should generally be assessed

& known in order to design supply pipes, service reservoirs, distributaries
pipes, etc.
Moreover, a suitable allowance must also be made for sudden and heavy
drafts required for fire fighting.
Max. daily consumption is generally taken as 180 % of the average
Therefore, Maximum daily demand = 1.8q
Max. hourly consumption is generally taken as 150 % of the average demand
Max. hourly consumption of the maximum day = i.e., Peak demand
=1.5 X Avg. hourly consumption of the max. day
= 1.5 X Max demand = 1.5 X [ (Max daily demand) / 24 ]
= 1.5 X [ (1.8q) / 24 ]
= 2.7 Annual Avg hourly demand

water demand 20
Coincident Draft
¾A fire may break out when water is being drawn by the consumers at
maximum hourly draft.
¾The total draft is not taken as the sum of max hourly demand and fire
demand, but. is taken as the sum of maximum daily demand and fire demand,
or the maximum hourly demand, whichever is more. The maximum daily
demand (i.e. 1.8 times the average daily demand) when added to fire draft for
working out total draft, is known as coincident draft.
Capacities of Different Components of a Water Supply Scheme
(1) The sources of supply such a wells, etc. designed for max daily
consumption or sometimes Avg daily consumption
(2) The pipe mains taking water from the th source up to the service reservoir
may be designed for max daily consumption.
(3) The filter and other units at the water treatment plant may also be designed
for maximum daily draft.
(4) Sometime, an additional provision for reserve is also made for break-down
and repairs. Therefore, they may be designed for twice th average daily instead
of 1.8 times the average daily.
(4) The pumps lifting the water may be designed for max daily draft plus some
additional reserve for break-downs and repairs; say, for twice the average daily
water demand 21
instead of 1.8 times the average daily.

water demand 22
(5) The distribution system (including the pipes carrying water from service reservoir
to distribution system should be designed for max hourly draft of the max day or
coincedent t draft with fire, whichever is more. Generally, no provision for reserve is
made.
The e service reservoir is designed to take care of the hourly fluctuations, fire
demands, emergency reserve, and the pro-vision required when pumps have to pump
the entire-day's water in fewer hours than 24 hours. Only 2 hours storage may be
considered for fire allowance as sufficient. Ordinarily, the required storage
approximates a day's consumption.

water demand 23

water demand 24
 water demand 25

Design Period &

Estimation of Population

water demand 26
 Design Periods
¾ A W/S scheme consists of costly structures (e.g dams / treatment works
etc) which cannot be replaced or increased in their capacities, easily and
conveniently.
¾ E.g., water mains including the distributing pipes are laid underground,
and cannot be replaced or added easily, without digging the roads
¾ To avoid future complications of expansions, the various components of a
water supply scheme are purposely made larger, to satisfy the community
needs for a reasonable number of years to come and this future period or the
number of years for which a provision is made in designing the capacities of
the various components of the water supply scheme is known as design period.
¾ Such a scheme designed for a design period of say ‘ y’ years is supposed
to satisfactorily serve the community needs up to the end of ‘y’ years.
¾ The design period should neither be too long nor should it be too short.
The design period cannot exceed the useful life of the component structure, and
is guided by the following considerations;

water demand 27

. Factors Governing the Design Period

1. Useful life of component structures and the chances of their
becoming old and obsolete. Design periods should not exceed those
respective values
2. Ease and difficulty that is likely to be faced in expansions, if
undertaken at future dates. For example, more difficult expansions
mean choosing a higher value of the design period.
3. Amount and availability of additional investment likely to be
incurred for additional provisions. For example, if the funds are
not available, one has to keep a smaller design period.
4. The rate of interest on the borrowings and the additional money
invested. For example, if the interest rate is small, a higher value
ofthe design period may be economicallyjustified and, therefore,
adopted.
(v) Anticipated rate of population growth, including possible shifts in
communities, industries and commercial estab

water demand 28
water demand 29

water demand 30
water demand 31

water demand 32
water demand 33

water demand 34
water demand 35

water demand 36
water demand 37

water demand 38
water demand 39

water demand 40
 Simple Graphical Method.
In this method, a graph is plotted from the available data, between time
and population. The curve is then smoothly extended up to the desired
year. The method, however, gives very approximate results, as the
extension of the curve is done by the intelligence of the designer.
Example 2.11. Work out the population of the year 2,000 from thedata
given below, using simple graphical method

water demand 41

. Comparative Graphical Method.

¾ In this method, the cities having condition and characteristics similar to
the city whose future population is to be estimated are, first of all, selected.
¾It is then assumed that the city under consideration will develop, as the selected
similar cities have developed in the past.
¾This method ha a logical background, and if statistics of development of similar
cities are available , quite precious and reliable results can he obtained.
¾However, it is rather difficult to find identical cities with respect to population
growth

water demand 42
water demand 43

water demand 44
water demand 45