The Application of Detailed Water Consumption Monitoring to the Demand Management Studies of a Medium I Density Housing Development in I Sydney, Australia

The internal water consumption of residential housing developments is one of the much ignored, yet great wonders of the urban development world. This paper describes a monitoring program that has been instigated to provide actual, independent and detailed data on the water consumption of 10 'state-of-the-art' medium density townhouses in the Sydney region. The paper focuses - on the needs, objectives and monitoring design identified for this two year project. It also highlights key elements that apply to future demand management and the application of this non-representitive, unique dataset to broader data, information, demand management and environmental requirements/management across a diverse and widespread urban environment. The study commenced in November 1993 and is being undertaken in conjunction with energy consumption/utilisation studies of these energy efficient design houses. The water balance monitoring for the site includes: stormwater runoff (quality and quantity); roof-runoff usage for non-potable supply; the continuous, individual monitoring of ALL internal and external water outlets (223 for the 10 town houses); and the external meteorological conditions at the site. The core objectives of the project include: to assess the benefits that acme from a modem urban development in terms of energy and water savings; to provide a benchmark development against which existing and future developments can be measured for their water and energy efficiency; to test the assumptions about urban residential water usage by providing accurate information on water usage in Sydney's urban residential areas; and to provide a long term site which can be used to measure changes in water and energy consumption that may result from management and pricing policies.