Economic factors affecting residential water demand in Colorado Walters, Laurie L. ; Young, Robert A. (Robert Alton), 1931- Water consumption -- Colorado Water conservation -- Colorado Water-meters -- Economic aspects -- Colorado "May 1994" "Completion Report No. 175" "Grant No. 14-08-0001-G1551, Project 06" "... was financed in part by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Geological Survey, through the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute ..." 109 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-89) This research undertook to study the economic and other factors affecting the demand for residential water in Colorado, with particular emphasis on the roles of metering and conservation programs for reducing water consumption. The study was motivated by the American Water Works Association's 1982 survey which reported that only about half of the Colorado water utilities used water meters, and evidence of higher use by nonmetered customers. We formulated a mail survey which requested 1985 and 1986 data on residential water use and on a range of factors hypothesized to affect water demand, including the levels and forms of water charges, the experience with conservation programs, frequency of billing and residents per connection. The survey responses were supplemented by federal government data on household income and on summer rainfall and temperature. The equations using average price explained the data somewhat better than did marginal price formulations (At the mean of the observations, price elasticity of demand for metered water was found to be about -.4, quite similar to that reported for other regions of the U.S.) Somewhat surprisingly, a strong negative association was found also between cost of water and generalizations from this finding. Also of interest was that more frequent billings reduce water use. (The above findings, taken together, show that cost does negatively influence water use, but that the residential water user departs somewhat from textbook model of the fully informed consumer who precisely responds to marginal price). Household size, as expected, positively influenced water consumption. Weather variable also showed impacts in the expected directions, although the associations were not particularly strong. However, household income was not found to be statistically significant influence on average water use. Colorado State University. Libraries Colorado Water Resources Research Institute Geological Survey (U.S.) 1994 text application/pdf COMP175.pdf CCRICWRI100026CRPT eng Completion report (Colorado Water Resources Research Institute) ; no. 175 Colorado c1994 Colorado Water Resources Research Institute
Economic factors affecting residential water demand in Colorado
Walters, Laurie L. ; Young, Robert A. (Robert Alton), 1931-
Water consumption -- Colorado
Water conservation -- Colorado
Water-meters -- Economic aspects -- Colorado
"May 1994"
"Completion Report No. 175"
"Grant No. 14-08-0001-G1551, Project 06"
"... was financed in part by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Geological Survey, through the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute ..."
109 p.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-89)
This research undertook to study the economic and other factors affecting the demand for residential water in Colorado, with particular emphasis on the roles of metering and conservation programs for reducing water consumption. The study was motivated by the American Water Works Association's 1982 survey which reported that only about half of the Colorado water utilities used water meters, and evidence of higher use by nonmetered customers. We formulated a mail survey which requested 1985 and 1986 data on residential water use and on a range of factors hypothesized to affect water demand, including the levels and forms of water charges, the experience with conservation programs, frequency of billing and residents per connection. The survey responses were supplemented by federal government data on household income and on summer rainfall and temperature. The equations using average price explained the data somewhat better than did marginal price formulations (At the mean of the observations, price elasticity of demand for metered water was found to be about -.4, quite similar to that reported for other regions of the U.S.) Somewhat surprisingly, a strong negative association was found also between cost of water and generalizations from this finding. Also of interest was that more frequent billings reduce water use. (The above findings, taken together, show that cost does negatively influence water use, but that the residential water user departs somewhat from textbook model of the fully informed consumer who precisely responds to marginal price). Household size, as expected, positively influenced water consumption. Weather variable also showed impacts in the expected directions, although the associations were not particularly strong. However, household income was not found to be statistically significant influence on average water use.
Colorado State University. Libraries
Colorado Water Resources Research Institute
Geological Survey (U.S.)
1994
text
application/pdf
COMP175.pdf
CCRICWRI100026CRPT
eng
Completion report (Colorado Water Resources Research Institute) ; no. 175
Colorado
c1994 Colorado Water Resources Research Institute