Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2009MI136B

An Estimation of Self-supplied Residential Water Use in Michigan

Institute: Michigan
Year Established: 2009 Start Date: 2009-03-01 End Date: 2010-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $15,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $32,841

Principal Investigators: Patricia Norris, Saichon Seedang, Mary Thompson

Project Summary: Currently, self-supplied residential withdrawal is rarely measured or reported at the state and national level. To date, there has been no research focused on estimating water use and demand for self-supplied residential use. Estimated per capita use coefficients were either derived using public-supply delivery data for domestic use, or were obtained from undocumented data. The aim of this research is to fill in the gaps of water use information necessary for developing comprehensive water use planning. The proposed research focuses on an estimation of per capita self-supplied residential water use at selected sites in Michigan. The research also seeks to understand trends and behaviors as well as factors that influence self-supplied water use which can be useful for further developing water conservation policy. For the second phase of this project (2009-2010), USGS continuing funds will be used (in part) for preparing a survey of residential self-supply water users. The proposed research will provide information for a better estimation of self-supplied residential withdrawal and use and can be integrated into water management and planning at the local watershed scale. In addition, this proposed project will serve as a model for other similar sites, either statewide, regionally or at the national level.