Identification of the Characteristics and Patterns of Clean Water Consumption at the Household Level

The varied water use in every aspect of life makes its availability extremely important; this beneficiary is strongly influenced by its quantity and quality. Community participation is needed to identify the characteristics and patterns of clean water consumption, especially at the household level, in order to better understand and explore the quantity of clean water consumption and the related behavior of the community of this project. Thereafter, efforts should be made to encourage the conservation of clean water consumption from the aspect of needs control. It can be seen from the results of the project that there is water saving potential from six main activities of household water usage, namely bathing, brushing of teeth, washing of hands and face, dish washing, clothes washing, and floor cleaning. To obtain the best data quality, the data collection method of each activity is divided into secondary and primary data, collected either through other sources or references, or by conducting a direct survey in the field of the target respondents selected. The study measures how much clean water saving potential there was with regard to nine respondents selected through a joint selection process. The greatest water saving potential derived from behavioral changes in washing activities, at 90 liters per activity. The potential water savings that could be achieved in the dish washing activity amounted to 86.4 liters. By undertaking the water saving activities in line with the calculations of the research, the respondents could save between Rp 136.797 (US$ 9,4) to Rp 192.103,- (US$ 13,2) per month.

Community participation; Household scale project; Water crisis; Water saving

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines household water as "water used for all domestic purposes including the preparation of consumption, bathing, and food" (World Health Organization, 1993). Based on the data, it is estimated that more than 2 billion people per day are affected by water shortages in more than 40 countries worldwide. 1.1 billion do not have adequate water and 2.4 billions do not have access to proper sanitation. By 2050 it is predicted that 1 in 4 person will be affected by a shortage of clean water (McGilloway, 2005). In Indonesia, with a population of more than 200 million, the need for clean water is becoming more urgent.

As water is the most important and necessary resource for all living things, many problems can be triggered if there are situations in which its availability is not sufficient to meet these needs, whether for domestic, industrial or urban purposes. Scarcity of water will cause not only health problems, but also social, economic, political and humanitarian ones. The threat of water crises has become a global one, including in Indonesia. A number of areas in big cities in the country are facing a shortage of clean water supply. As the availability of clean water sources has been declining over time, due to both hydrological cycle disturbance and water body pollution, engineering efforts are needed to ensure its availability, followed by efforts to control the use of water by the community.

According to the research of Shan et al. (2015), The project Integrated Support System for Efficient Water Usage and Resources Management (ISS-EWATUS) in 2014 at the household level in the European Union (EU) such control was achieved by the development of a decision support system to provide householders with good awareness of their daily water consumption in a meaningful and effective way, and in turn to promote a reduction in water consumption. Therefore, community participation is needed to identify the characteristics and patterns of clean water consumption, especially at a household level, in order to better understand and explore the quantity of clean water consumption and the realted behavior of the community. An improved understanding of daily water consumption practices will encourage consumers to adopt water conservation behavior (Fan et al., 2014). Subsequently, efforts can be made to encourage the conservation of clean water consumption from the needs control aspect. The expected outcome of this research is knowledge of the behavior of residents in using or consuming clean water, as well as establishing what can be done with regard to the conservation (water-saving) of clean water in terms of demand management, so that education and intervention can be developed in the community to help people adopt more efficient and sustainable water use behavior (Hamilton, 1983). 

Based on the research or pilot project activities for the water saving campaign that has been conducted in a limited way, the conclusions obtained are as follows. There is delta water saving potential from six main activities of water usage on a household scale, namely bathing, brushing of teeth, hand and face washing, dishwashing, clothes washing, and floor cleaning. The greatest water saving potential derived from behavioral changes in washing activities is 90 liters per activity, and the potential water savings that can be achieved in washing dishes amounts to 86.4 liters per activity. Meanwhile, the potential savings of clean water in bathing activities and at the same time cleaning the hair/head with shampoo is 19.95 liters per activity. However, the potential for water saving for three other activities, teeth brushing, hand washing and floor cleaning, still require further education in the pilot project opportunity; because of time constraints these areas were underdeveloped.

This research was supported/partially supported by Unilever Indonesia Foundation and Indonesia Water Institute. We thank our colleagues from the Indonesia Water Institute and Prompt-Research Jakarta, who provided insight and expertise that greatly assisted the research. We also thank our respondents and surveyors for their contributions and insights.

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