Residential water demand analysis of a Low-Income Rate Assistance Program in California, United States

摘要

This paper presents a statistical analysis of residential water demand in a Low-Income Rate Assistance (LIRA) Program. A comparison of 10 years of monthly household level water use data (2002-2011) for LIRA versus non-LIRA customers revealed significant differences in water use patterns in four of the five study cities. In addition, seasonal index (averages summer versus winter water use) were investigated for LIRA versus non-LIRA. There was a statistically significant difference for some cities; however, the level of difference was not large enough to conclusively demonstrate an outstanding difference between the two groups. Finally, the peaking factor approach coupled with the statistical modelling of demand elaborated in this paper will provide a more realistic way of representing residential water demand variations in system performance assessment/evaluations.