An investigation of domestic water consumption in Sirte, Libya

Abstract

The paper investigates per capita water consumption in Sirte city using a questionnaire survey data. The data captured included frequency, duration, flow rate, time of water use for each water end-use and household characteristics (demographic and socio-economic). The results show that the average daily per capita water consumption is 255 l/p/d. The per capita water consumption decreases with the increase in family size, while household income does not affect water consumption. Handwash basin tap accounts for the highest water consumption. The diurnal water consumption pattern is different from developed countries patterns and has multiple peaks. To predict the city’s future water demand, three statistical models based on multiple linear regression technique (STEPWISE) were developed. The comparison of the developed models suggests that the models based on demographic variables can produce acceptable results and any further inclusion of additional variables (physical characteristics of households) do not necessarily improve the prediction accuracy. .