Water Consumption in Ustka, Poland

Analysis presented in this paper are the result of research on water consumption in Ustka in the period from January 1 2004 to December 31 2010. Ustka as a tourist resort with a off-season population of 16,400, can accommodate in its area, during summer, up to 25,000 tourists. Such change in the number of water consumers causes significant fluctuations of water consumption. Ustka water consumer may be divided into five groups: housing cooperatives, municipal and company buildings, single-family housing, services and industry. Collected data allowed to determine the share of particular groups of customers in the consumption of water, and determine for those groups of average daily demand for water. Analysis of water consumption shows that the demand for it in the years 2004–2010 decreased by approximately 9.2%. This was caused by such factors as demographic decline, economic crisis, the increase in water price, metering of customers and reduction of industrial production. Analysis of the dynamics of changes shows that the biggest drop in consumption occurred in the industry, for which value in 2010 compared to 2004 decreased by 55%. The housing group showed lower water consumption, compared to 2004, by 27%. Equally important is the knowledge of hourly demand variability. The analysis of the distribution of hourly water consumption for three years conducted research shows that regardless of the season, the maximum water consumption occurred between 7:00 hour and 13:00 hour. Also increased demand for water from 18:00 to 20:00 and from 22:00 to 23:00 is visible during summer season. On the basis of collected data the actual values of indicators of individual water demand for each month and year were determined. Their knowledge is essential for the design and modernization of the water supply network. Presented the difference between the value given in Regulations and calculated on the basis of actual water consumption indicates a risk, which is network design on the basis of normative values. In case when there is no data of water consumption for the designed network, there is possibility to oversize water supply system, which in the future may impede the operation of the system. For the operated and planned water supply network it is important to analyse water consumption over the years, since it enables more detailed planning of production and design of water supply system components