IWCRM logo banner photo of kids in water

 

 

photo of crane and irrigation ditch
>
 ABOUT IWCRM IQC
>
 THE IWCRM TEAM
>
 COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
>
 OBTAINING SERVICES
>
 PUBLICATIONS
>
 LINKS
>
 CONTACTS
>
 TASK ORDERS
>
 EVENTS
>
 SUCCESS STORIES
 
HOME

 
Water Demand Management
 
 
  Photo by Alexandra Boulat
   

Water shortages and droughts are a fact of life. USAID and the larger development community are trying to mitigate the advance of these critical issues. The DAI-led Water IQC team will likely play a role toward mitigating the effects of water shortages and droughts in the months and years to come. This site is designed to help interested parties to better understand and utilize best practices in water demand management.The world is faced with increasing imbalances in the Supply/Demand equation and rising costs for new supplies. Water Demand Management (WDM) is the least-cost “supply” alternative, often costing 1/3 the cost of traditional supply options. It is also the most environmentally appropriate supply alternative as it requires fewer and smaller water, wastewater, and electrification facilities, thus decreasing the “footprint” on the environment. USAID’s Water IQC can provide realistic WDM solutions to urban and agricultural water supply needs.

What Is Water Demand Management?
Several definitions are available for water demand management and are summarized below
1. Any socially beneficial action that reduces or reschedules average or peak water withdrawals or consumption from either surface or groundwater, consistent with the protection or enhancement of water quality (1)
2. A practical strategy that improves the equitable, efficient and sustainable use of water (2)
3. Stressing equitable access to water, reflected in a strategy that is specifically designed to improve service delivery to the poor (2)
   
  a. treating water as both an economic as well as a social good, and managing and pricing it accordingly
   
  b. balancing the management of losses and consumption with the development or expansion of supplies
   
  c. managing a change in organizational culture from being technology focused and supply driven, to one which puts people first and is demand responsive
   
4. The development and implementation of strategies aimed at influencing demand, so as to achieve efficient and sustainable use of a scarce resource (3)
   
5. To get the most from the water we have (4)
 
   
1 Tate, D.; "An Overview of Water Demand Management and Conservation" in Vision 21: Water for People; Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council; Geneva
   
2 Deverill, P.; Sharing It Out – Introducing Water Demand Strategies for Small Towns; WELL (Water and Environmental Health at London and Loughborough, UK); 2001
   
3 Savenije, H.H.G and van der Zaag, P.; "Water as an Economic Good and Demand Management: Paradigms and Pitfalls"; Water International, Volume 27, Number 1, pp. 98-104; March, 2002.
   
4 Brooks, D.B.; Water: Local-Level Management; International Development Research Centre, Ottawa; 2002