Domestic water use when hand carried

#1

I’m working to write up a proposal for Certified Emission Reduction credits to provide funding for sand dams. I need an estimate of how much water a typical household uses when they have to carry the water by hand and do not have plumbing. I’m guessing it is very low. I need it to make an educated guess of how much water from a sand dam will be available for irrigation. The chemistry for how much carbon irrigation water will take up initially in the short term is simple. 1 liter of water taken up by plants will use 55.6 moles of CO2 as carbohydrate. There are irrigation losses and respiration of carbon dioxide and decay of organic matter that complicate the math. That said, I think a reasonable educated guess of the amount of water a sand dam will collect for irrigation could justify the funds needed to build them in many cases. My initial impression from researching carbon emission reduction credits is that the quality varies widely from totally bogus to generous. I’m trying to estimate how much water from a sand dam might be used for domestic use, which is its highest and best use. Civil engineers have numbers they use for sewer and water design in the western world. Does anyone have a rough guestimate of how much water per person per day might be used if it needs to be carried by hand to homes with no plumbing?

1 Like
#2

Reach out to the Water, Engineering and Development Centre at Loughborough University. I know they have the numbers you’re looking for (at one point, I learned them), but I can’t recall. Water Engineering and Development Centre | Loughborough University

#3
    • According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the average water consumption for individuals who have to carry water by hand in rural areas can be as low as 5 to 10 liters per person per day. This is far below the WHO’s recommended minimum of 50 liters per person per day for basic health and hygiene.
  • The United Nations also supports this finding, indicating that in many rural African communities, water usage is limited to about 10 liters per person per day due to the effort and time required to fetch water.
  • Factors Influencing Water Usage:
  • Distance to Water Source: The farther the water source, the less water people tend to use, as the time and effort to collect water increase.
  • Water Collection Frequency: Families often collect water once or twice a day, and the amount they can carry in one trip limits their daily usage.
  • Container Capacity: The size and number of containers available for carrying water also affect daily water usage. A common container is the 20-liter jerry can, which women and children often carry on their heads.
#4

Thanks Dan, Very helpful. I was guessing it would be pretty miniscule.