Identifying the key attributes of fresh water crisis in Dhaka city: A structural equation modeling approach

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze how user behavior and climate change influence the freshwater demand in metropolitan areas. In total, 406 observations were obtained from different respondents in Dhaka city via an online survey. Our research demonstrates that the data are reliable and acceptable for factor analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is adopted to show the relation-ships between the parameters. The model fit parameters (CFI, NFI, TLI, RMSEA, and so on) are used to choose the best structural equation (SE) model. Additionally, responses are analyzed by the relative importance index (RII) method and com-pared with the SEM results. This study shows that personal water waste and natural crises substantially impact the freshwater crisis. Excessive use of water during showering, washing clothing and dishes, washing vegetables, and pool refilling are the most common ways to wastewater. Furthermore, the ground layer in Dhaka city is gradually reducing due to the natural crisis, but the WASA pump’s capacity is insufficient to pump up this water. This research aids policymakers in identifying the key attributes that are contributing to the urban freshwater crisis.