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DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING A MODEL OF RESIDENTIAL WATER CONSERVATION 1
Author(s) -
Bruvold William H.,
Smith Bruce R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1988.tb00918.x
Subject(s) - per capita , water conservation , consumption (sociology) , variables , block (permutation group theory) , water use , household income , environmental science , economics , environmental economics , agricultural economics , business , econometrics , mathematics , engineering , ecology , statistics , water resources , civil engineering , environmental health , sociology , medicine , population , social science , geometry , biology
Relevant literature was reviewed from which a model of residential water conservation was developed. Four residential conservation program interventions were posited: 1) public education, 2) pricing variables, 3) water use restrictions, and 4) building code requirements. Four exogenous variables affecting residential water use were also posited: 1) temperature, 2) rainfall, 3) household income, and 4) household size. The impacts of these eight variables on residential per capita daily use were assessed by cross sectional and time series analysis. Study results generally supported the porposed model, with less consistent support obtained for pricing variables and conservation beliefs. The paper concludes with the hypothesis that an inclining block rate structure coupled with an informational program designed to inform consumers of their consumption under each block will have a synergistic impact.