Water consumption management and its role on energy saving, case study of Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT

Due to shortage of precipitation and the spatial and periodical disparity of rainfalls, Iran is counted among the arid and semi-arid countries of the world, and therefore the water utilities have put the control of consumption and efficient use of water high on their priorities. Water consumption management is considered as a field of energy management, and the impacts of effective measure related to water consumption pattern and its optimization on reducing demands are quite clear. Therefore one of the main objectives of consumption management policies is to optimize energy and reducing the costs of energy needed to supply potable water from production sources. To have a relative estimate of the amount of energy reduced as a consequence of consumption management the outcomes of a case study undertaken in a region of Tehran were used. In this study, the application of consumption management measures yielded in a 19% reduction in water consumption. This amount of reduction limits requirements from production sources such as wells and treatment plants and its direct impact is to reduce the required energy and the costs of water supply