Preliminary assessment of the drinking water consumption at the residential level in the province of Panamá and Panamá Oeste (#1874)

Authors

Loo, Stalin

Gil, Carlos

Bannick, Nicole

González, Gustavo

Muñoz, Melisabel

Abstract

Panama is one of the most water-rich countries. Considering the available water resource, it would be expected that access to potable water would not be a problem in terms of quantity. However, many regions nationwide do not have a continuous drinking water supply. The accelerated population growth, the lack of planning in urban development and the lack of investment in network infrastructure represent some of the challenges the country faces regarding the drinking water supply service. Considering the above, an important aspect to address the water supply issues is to understand the behavior of drinking water consumption, in particular at the residential level, who consume more than 70% of the water billed by IDAAN (Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales, by its acronym in spanish). The objective of this research paper is to carry out a preliminary analysis of the water consumption corresponding to the residential sector with the information available from the monthly water bill. The study was carried out through digital surveys. The average daily consumption per person according to the data collected is 48.67 ± 32.18 gallons per person per day (gppd). However, the per capita consumption reported in 2021, analyzed by region, ranges between 69 and 137 gppd. The design value (100 gppd) according to the IDAAN regulations is 2.05 times greater than the estimated average consumption per person. These values highlight that a more in-depth study of water consumption must be carried out, including analysis of factors such as geographic region, income, number of residents, among other factors