Factors Impacting Water Consumption at Household Level in a Region with Limited Access to Water

摘要

Water scarcity is a serious problem in Kathmandu valley, Nepal. Although local residents depend on various alternative water sources due to intermittent water supply, they suffer from the quality of the alternative contaminated water sources and adapt their lifestyles to the limited access to safe water by treatment or storage. This study aimed to develop a model to estimate water consumption at household level using a questionnaire to collect information from over 1000 households in the Kathmandu valley. The questions related to household members, water use, health condition, Quality of Life, etc. A statistical analysis of the relationship between several factors and water consumption showed that sources, earthquake, economic status and homeownership were strongly correlated with water consumption, however, the impact of seasonality on water consumption was unclear. Based on these results, two types of factors were determined as major components in the model to predict water consumption: (i) environment factor (sources, quality, infrastructure) and (ii) social factor (economic status, social capital, adaptability). In addition, a "Basic Water Requirement" in the Kathmandu valley was deduced to be 60 ～ 65 liters per capita per day (L/c/d) which is nearly half of the criterion for a healthy life recommended by World Health Organization.