Water End-Use Disaggregation for Six Nonresidential Facilities in Logan, Utah

Abstract

Most urban water-use monitoring, modeling, and conservation research has focused on a large but relatively homogenous group of residential water users. Commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) facilities use large volumes of water, but their diversity in amounts, timing, locations, and other use factors makes them difficult to monitor and study. We monitored water use at four manufacturing and two assisted-care facilities in Logan, Utah, at 5-min and 5-s frequencies for up to 1 year. We used the data to disaggregate and quantify the temporal signature of end uses that included toilets, showers, landscape irrigation, industrial processes, and humidifiers. We also quantified variability in volume, duration, frequency, and timing of end uses, variability across facilities, and average water use per end use. Results identified water-use events both specific to CII users and in common with residential users. We shared findings with participating business representatives, who verified that results matched their understanding of water-use behaviors within their facilities.