DENVER, CO, May 23, 2011 -- The Water Research Foundation (WaterRF) plans to update and expand its Residential End Uses Water Study originally published in 1999. The study is considered by water utilities, industry regulators and government planning agencies to be an industry benchmark of single-family home indoor water use.
The three-year project will begin in Spring 2011 and conclude in late 2013. Its goal is to investigate water use patterns in residential housing in 28 water utilities markets in the United States and Canada. The 28 water utilities volunteered to participate in the project.
The new study will expand on the 1999 report by exploring water use over a more geographically diverse area, monitoring hot water use, examining outdoor water use (e.g., for landscaping) and assessing water conservation efforts in households. The new study also will integrate data from additional reports, in order to present a more comprehensive picture of residential water use.
Under WaterRF's supervision, the study will be conducted by water engineering and management company Aquacraft Inc., in collaboration with environmental engineering firm Hazen and Sawyer, the National Research Center, Veritec Consulting and Dr. Benedykt Dziegielewski, a professor at Southern Illinois University and a national expert on water use analysis.
The total cost of the project is $1.6 million, with funding and in-kind services pooled from WaterRF, the Aquacraft research team and a number of the participating water utilities. Other participating water utilities are providing in-kind donations and contributions to the project.
The 1999 study is available on the WaterRF website.
###
