Institute for Social and Economic Change |
Working Paper: 502
Factors Influencing Urban Residential Water Consumption in Bengaluru
Kavya Shree
K Krishna Raj
Abstract
Bengaluru city faces severe water crisis, with dying sources and inefficient use of drinking water. The sources of water important to understand the quantity of water consumed. Usually, the demand for water is more elastic with respect to public piped water supply, as the pricing is often subsidised due to the fact that it is a social good rather than an economic good. Identifying the factors influencing water consumption in Bengaluru city is the key to offer suitable policies for efficient water utilisation and management. In this study, urban residential water consumption and its influencing factors are identified and analysed by using the Ordinary Least Square method. The results show that the various variables considered are statistically significant, which affect residential water consumption. The variables that influence water consumption are the number of dependents in a family, its location, size of the house, different sources of water, water price and education of the consumers.