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Beijing, a megacity in northern China, has been long facing the challenge of water scarcity, and the problem of domestic water scarcity has been becoming more serious in recent years due to climate change and global warming. To cope with the adverse effects of climate change, it is urgent to build a prediction model for water consumption in Beijing under the background of climate change. Here, a climate domestic water use model was established based on the historical meteorological data and domestic water use data, and the future domestic water demand in Beijing and the response of domestic water use to climate change were projected. The results showed that the climatic water consumption in Beijing will increase with climate warming by 177.23 million m3/°C, and the per capita annual water consumption will increase by 8.1 m3/°C. Combined with the CMIP6 multi-model climate change scenario data, the climate domestic water consumption in Beijing in 2035 under the four scenarios of SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 will be 169 million m3, 189 million m3, 208 million m3, and 235 million m3 respectively; by 2050, the climate domestic water consumption in Beijing will reach 338 million m3, 382 million m3, 395 million m3, and 398 million m3, respectively. Under SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios, if all the increased climate domestic water consumptions are supplemented by groundwater, compared with 2019, the groundwater depth will decrease by 0.18 m, 0.22 m, 0.27 m, and 0.32 m in 2035, respectively, and the area of funnel area will increase by 6.84 km2, 8.48 km2, 10.11 km2, 12.34 km2 respectively. Compared with 2035, the groundwater depth in 2050 will decrease by 0.37 m, 0.43 m, 0.41 m and 0.36 m, respectively, the area of funnel area will increase by 14.13 km2, 16.21 km2, 15.61 km2, and 13.68 km2, respectively. If the increased climatic water consumption in Beijing is supplemented by external water transfer, the cost of external water transfer in 2035 will increase by CNY 391 million, CNY 485 million, CNY 578 million, and CNY 706 million, respectively, compared with that in 2019 under the four scenarios. Compared with 2035, the cost of external water transfer in 2050 will increase by CNY 808 million, CNY 927 million, CNY 893 million, and CNY 783 million, respectively.

China’s living arrangement has changed as the economy grows and society makes progress. More and more people prefer to live alone. In 2018, a total of 240 million people chose to live alone in China, with an annual growth of 0.53% per year. How will the growing number of people living alone affect the resources consumption and the ecological environment? Based on the data from 1998 to 2017 at provincial level, this paper selects domestic water and electricity consumption to represent resources consumption, and household garbage generation to represent ecological environment, taking the proportion of single-person households in the total households as the explanatory variable and age, education, and household appliances as the control variables. This paper aims to apply dynamic panel models to analyze the impact of solitary population on resources consumption (water and electricity resources as representatives) and on waste generation. The results show that (1) people living alone consume more resources and generate more garbage, while household waste is influenced most, followed by household electricity consumption and household water consumption, (2) positive relations between age and resources consumption and waste generation have been identified, and (3) the energy-saving technology of home appliances is conducive to resources conservation and emission reduction.

Although an extensive literature emphasizes the disadvantages of intermittent water supply, it remains prevalent in rural areas of developing countries. Understanding the effects of water supply time restrictions on domestic water use activities and patterns, especially for hygienic purposes, is important for the elaboration of the water supply. We studied the influence of intermittent and continuous water supply on water consumption and related activities in villages in the central region of the Wei River basin, China. Data were collected from a survey of 225 households in the sampled villages. Compared with a continuous water supply of 24 h d⁻¹ (hours per day), adopting an intermittent water supply can reduce domestic water consumption. However, it presents risks in terms of hygiene behavior, particularly the frequency of face, hands, and feet washing, as well as water sharing among family members. Outdoor water consumption is more affected than indoor water consumption under slight supply restriction (≥6 and < 24 h d⁻¹), whereas indoor water use is most affected under moderate supply restriction (>1.5 and < 6 h d⁻¹). Villages with high supply restriction (≤1.5 h d⁻¹) meet only the minimum basic requirements for domestic use, 33.6–34.7 L c⁻¹ d⁻¹ (liters per capita per day). We conclude that the determination of the daily water delivery duration for intermittent water supply in rural communities of developing countries should give greater consideration to differences in water use activities and patterns under the water supply time restrictions.

A building’s energy consumption is assessed considering the energy required for heating, cooling, lighting, and domestic hot water (DHW). Methodologies used to calculate energy certificates in European Union countries consider hot water consumption rates per person or per heated (floor) area, giving wide-ranging values (35–88 dm3/person/day). Using extreme parameters, it is possible to obtain a primary energy index that meets the legal requirements, although unrealistically large proportions of domestic hot water use relative to the total energy balance of the building may marginalize the influence of other components, such as fluctuations in heating, ventilation, or lighting. In the current work, the DHW consumption of three residential buildings was measured to verify the energy consumption for hot water preparation. Investigations were conducted based on the consumption of natural gas for DHW preparation. Experimentally obtained water consumption rates were determined per m2 of a dwelling and per person living in the building. The calculated indicators (0.85 ± 0.005 dm3/m2/day and 27.4 ± 1.4 dm3/person/day) were lower than those used for energy certifications of buildings. The experimentally obtained indicators were used in further theoretical energy assessments of six residential buildings. By adopting the designated indicators, the analyzed buildings met the legally required primary energy value (<70 kWh/m2/year) when using natural gas as a heat source. Applying more realistic DHW consumption values resulted in more accurate energy certifications.

In recent decades, water resources shortage has become a global problem, and it is critical to analyse the trend of domestic water consumption and its influencing factors to optimise water resource management, promote the construction of a water-saving society, and realise the sustainable development of resources and the environment. We chose the Yellow River Basin as the study area and analysed the temporal and spatial characteristics of domestic water using water-use data, identified its influencing factors by Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index, and analysed its relationship with economic development based on the decoupling theory. In this study, we found that: (1) Domestic water consumption increased in the Yellow River Basin between 2006 and 2020, with provinces primarily located south of the river. (2) Technical and economic effects were the major factors leading to changes in domestic water use. The technical effect is the major factor inhibiting the increase, whereas the economic effect encourages the increase in domestic water consumption. (3) In the Yellow River Basin, weak decoupling was achieved between domestic water consumption and economic growth, with domestic water consumption at a slower rate than the economic growth rate.

This study presents the assessment of water scarcity associated with livestock production in a watershed in Southern Brazil where 115 farms (poultry, pig, and milk) are located. The methods, AWARE—available water remaining, and BWSI—blue water scarcity index, were applied monthly for the year 2018, and the characterization factors (CF) were regionalized into five scenarios evaluated by varying water availability and environmental water requirements. Livestock water consumption accounted for 94.1% of the total water consumed. Low water scarcity was observed in all scenarios (BWSI < 0). The highest CFAWARE was observed in scenario 3, ranging from 2.15 to 9.70 m3 world eq.m3, with higher water scarcity in summer. In the same scenario, pig production presented the highest annual average water scarcity footprint (WSF) of 90.3 m3 world eq./t carcass weight. Among milk production systems, pasture-based systems presented the highest annual average WSF of 52.7 m3 world eq./t fat protein corrected milk, surpassing semi-confined and confined systems by 12.4% and 3.5%, respectively. In scenario 3, poultry production presented an annual average WSF of 49.3 m3 world eq./t carcass weight. This study contributes knowledge to the livestock sector to perform the assessment of water scarcity.

Studies on water in cities usually focus on household consumption. However, little attention has been given to non-household consumption and schools from a geographic perspective. The objectives of this research are to examine water consumption trends in schools in the city of Alicante (Southern Spain) between 2000–2017, revise how water use is managed in these centers, and, lastly, examine initiatives aimed at environmental education and saving water in these schools. The results obtained from a survey of school directors indicate a low level of participation because only 14 of the 88 educational centres in the city chose to collaborate in this research. Second, and with regard to water trend consumption, in 2017, water consumption increased by 1.76% in comparison with the average for the period of 2000 to 2004, in contrast with a 38.9% fall in non-household general consumption in the city. Lastly, measures to encourage water saving and environmental education in schools are limited. This tendency is explained by the increase in the number of users over the last five years. Second, the water bill is not paid directly by schools’ directors and, thus, ‘free’ water is a factor that does not incentivise savings. A third is the little investment made in the installation of water-saving devices, water-saving plans, or action taken to promote the use of non-conventional water resources to the watering garden. Lastly, low promotion of environmental education or incentives for savings in schools.

Rapid population growth and subsequent urbanization pose significant challenges of water shortage in arid regions. As an important area along the One Belt and One Road line, the Northern Slope of Tianshan Mountains (NSTM) has suffered from water shortages owing to rapid urbanization in recent decades. To conserve water resources and protect the ecosystem, understanding the temporal and spatial variations of the domestic water consumption, availability, and its influencing factors is essential. According to water resource regionalization and its characteristics in NSTM, it was divided into three sections, namely the west section, the middle section, and the east section. In addition, this work characterized the temporal and spatial variation of domestic water consumption in NSTM with a focus on the understanding of the influence of urbanization on domestic water consumption from 1990 to 2020 based on three sections. The results showed that during this period of time, construction land use increased by 2256 km2 corresponding to the population increase of 158.58 × 104. Subsequently, the total domestic water consumption increased from 7.55 × 107 m3 in 1990 to 2.60 × 108 m3 in 2020. The eastern section demonstrated steady growth, while the western and middle sections experienced larger fluctuations in domestic water consumption. Urbanization has been identified as a significant factor influencing the shift in domestic water consumption. This study offers a scientific foundation for the sustainable management of water resources in arid areas.

In India, as a result of development, the demand for water is increasing both in urban and rural areas. This may increase tensions and disputes over sharing of water resources. For water demand management, it is crucial to know the details of actual water use on a household level. Therefore, this paper explores the pattern of domestic water consumption in semi-arid Dhani Mohabbatpur village of Hisar district in Haryana state of India, to improve the understanding of how local communities in the region relate to water, based on questionnaires and interview surveys of 763 households. The study has examined the households daily and activity wise water consumption, sources, quality, duration, frequency of water supply, distance of different sources and the level of awareness about rainwater harvesting. Results of the study revealed that the daily average water consumption for the village was found to be 117.0 1 per person per capita per day (SD = 35.8). Washing of clothes consumes the highest amount of water, whereas 85 % of the households are using government water supplies with very safe water quality. However, 77 % households are not satisfied with duration of water supply and 86 % do not have awareness about rainwater harvesting technology. This needs to be addressed immediately by changing public perception through media and by organizing public awareness programs. It is hoped that the results of the study would benefit the policy and planning executives in India in optimizing the existing water resources for rural development.

This study aims to identify the factors that may influence water consumption in single-family households in the city of Joinville, Southern Brazil. Through questionnaires, data were collected from 108 households in several neighborhoods of the city. The questionnaires contained open-ended and closed-ended questions involving the surrounding infrastructure, socio-economic and demographic characteristics, constructive characteristics, installed plumbing fixtures, and water-use habits, totaling 57 variables. The independent variables were correlated to monthly water consumption (m3/month/household) and per capita consumption (liters/person/day) of each household. The statistically significant variables that affected households water consumption were related to demographic characteristics such as number of residents and educational level, construction features (i.e., number of bathrooms, building age, and built area), the presence of water-efficient appliances and water conservation habits. The results obtained can contribute to the development of new studies on water consumption and sustainable policies and awareness on the importance of water conservation.