FLOW TRACE ANALYSIS TO ASSESS WATER-USE

Precise information about water use patterns can be gathered by analyz ing flow traces obtained from residential customer water meters that a re fitted with portable data loggers. Flow traces are precise enough t hat signatures associated with all major water use categories can be i dentified. For this study, more than 10,000 water use events were reco rded, classified, and entered into a database. The technique is both a ccurate and reliable and can be used to collect time-specific and disa ggregated water use data. Measuring directly instead of inferring meas urements from aggregated data is a quick and cost-effective way to ana lyze water use patterns and directly assess how conservation measures influence water demand.