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Water efficiency measures and alternative supply sources alleviate peak water demand on urban water supply networks. Consequently, they also provide benefits to water service providers, in terms of augmentation deferrals and reduced sized infrastructure. However, while these benefits are acknowledged in the literature, they have not been thoroughly investigated and quantified. This paper empirically demonstrates how the installation of different potable water saving measures would affect the design of urban water supply networks. Peak day water demand profiles were developed for the baseline scenario, which represented the typical building code mandated for new dwellings constructed in Queensland, Australia, and for households fitted with water saving measures. The core novel feature of this study relates to the use of an innovative bottom-up approach to the development of demand profiles based on smart meters enabling comprehensive water end use datasets (i.e. demand in shower, tap, etc.) to be obtained. Hydraulic model runs were conducted for various water savings scenarios across different planning horizons to determine the scheduling of augmentations in a water supply study area. The results of the model runs showed deferred and eliminated augmentations, as well as reductions in infrastructure sizing for the water savings scenarios compared to the baseline scenario. Financial analysis (i.e. NPV) on trunk main augmentation requirements over 50 year asset life cycles indicated that savings of between $1,574,289 (11.4%) and $7,030,796 (51%) could be achieved by incorporating water efficiency and potable source substitution measures in new infill developments in the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and up-to-date peak demand data are essential to ensure that future mains water supply networks reflect current usage patterns and are designed efficiently from an engineering, environmental, and economic perspective. The aim of this paper was to identify the water end-uses that drive peak day demand and to examine their associated hourly diurnal demand patterns based on over 18 months of water consumption data obtained from high-resolution smart meters installed in 230 residential properties across South East Queensland, Australia. Peak day (PD) to average day (AD) ratios between 1 and 1.5 were driven by both external and internal end-uses. However, as the PD:AD ratio increased above 1.5, demand was driven largely by external water usage (i.e., lawn and garden irrigation). Peak hour ratios (i.e., PHPD:PHAD) ranged from 1.3 to 3.0 for the four peak demand days. At the end-use level, the individual end-use category PHPD:PHAD ratios were in the range of 0.7-3.3 for all end-uses, with the exception of external or irrigation. The ratio for this latter end-use category was typically very high, at over 10 times the average irrigation demand. Comparisons with historically based, but currently used, peaking factors used for network distribution modeling suggest that the degree and frequency of high peaking factors are lower now, due to the high penetration of water-efficient technology and growing water conservation awareness by consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]