Abstract
Water is a finite resource facing very high demand due to increases in population, expansion of cities and several other factors, therefore proper planning and management of this vital resource is very important in order to avoid water scarcity. For the purpose of planning and managing this recourse, evidence-based estimates of the consumption pattern of the population and a good understanding of the factors influencing the consumption is needed. While water consumption patterns in developed countries have been extensively studied, there is limited information available for the developing countries. This study evaluated the water consumption patterns and determinants among households in the Adolor community of Egor LGA area, Edo State, Nigeria.
Data for the study were collected through questionnaires distributed using random sampling methods and analyzed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics, including frequency analysis, were employed to analyze the data, and the results were presented in tables. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression were conducted to assess the influence of different variables on total water volume.
The findings revealed that bathing accounted for the highest proportion of water consumption at 27.39%, followed by cloth washing at 20.42%, while drinking water constituted the lowest percentage at 6.05% of the total water volume. The multiple linear regression analysis indicated that 88.5% of water volume could be explained by factors such as education level, occupation, gender, water source, collection time, age, and specific water usage patterns like bathing, dishwashing, car washing, toilet flushing, and cooking. Among these variables, gender, education level, water source, and occupation status were identified as the most significant in explaining water consumption, with 95.7%, 95.2%, 92.8%, and 90.7% of the total variance explained, respectively. Furthermore, ANOVA results (p<0.01) confirmed the validity of the selected variables for predicting water consumption in the Adolor community.
