Utilization and consumption pattern of water in urban areas: a study in Sambalpur city of Odisha

Abstract

The study was designed to understand the proper utilization and consumption pattern of water in urban areas. In past few years, ground water level in India is going down. The population has been increased exponentially, leading to improper use of water. Unfortunately, with diminishing resources of water, the human behaviour towards water conservation is not changing. During present study efforts have been made to assess the different income group consumer’s behaviour with respect to the decreasing water supply. It has been observed that due to unawareness, people are using more water than it is needed. The finding shows that the higher income group people in urban area are using more water than lower income group people. The water totally depends on the size of the family. This needs to be addressed immediately by changing public perception towards water use through media and by organizing public awareness programs. It is hoped that the results of the study would benefit the urban development authorities in optimizing the existing water resources through proper distribution system viz-a-viz society.