Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project

Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Report on Urban Household Water Use Pilot Survey in Beijing and Tianjin
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Summary Introduction Current State of Knowledge Study Area Methodology Interim Results Area for Future Research Conclusions

Summary
This report, a pilot survey, summarizes the characteristics of urban water use of 32 sample households, which were visited in the pilot survey from May 18 to June 28, 1999 in municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin. 11 samples are in Tianjin and 21 samples are in Beijing. Information from this pilot study indicates that the urban residents in both Beijing and Tianjin are still conservative in water use. There is a difference between the young and old generations. The average water use in typical urban housing per resident, however, is some 3 cubic meters each month. Beijing and Tianjin have a good and cheap municipal water supply service. 100 percent of the sample households have the indoor tap water service as their major source of household water. Average family pays less than 1 percent of their monthly income for the water bill, which includes the wastewater disposal charge. 100 percent of the sample households are metered, even though, the meters are neither read on a regularly and individually base nor directly by the water supply company. Most of the sample families do not have any type of water conservation measure. Watersaving incentives such as normal water fee rebate is not appealing to them. The families, however, would like to use as much less water as possible The majority of the households are satisfactory with the current water supply in terms of water quality, taste, color and pressure.

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

There is still a lot of room left to be improved with the current system. Some of the important aspects are: Most of the families are very worried about the further deterioration of the water quality. They are willing to pay more to prevent the future water pollution Current billing system is not accurate enough to reflect the actual usage. A more advanced and hassle free billing method such as smart card which is widely used in electricity company is always mentioned by the residents

The maintenance of the current system in both Beijing and Tianjin is poor. The water quality in end uses after travelling through the zinc-plating cast iron water pipe system is much lower than that just pumped out of the water plant.

Public information on water shortage is insufficient with the regard to the sever resource shortage situation in the region. Public information program should have a clear definition of purpose, and use of appropriate measures to deliberate the intended message.

Introduction
Beijing and Tianjin which are two most important cities in China are located in the most water short regions in China. The per capita annual water resource in Beijing ,for example, is only 300 cubic meters, which is less than one eighth of the national average and one thirty second of the world average. On one hand, rapid and high level of urbanization in the region put a strong pressure on the already poorly managed water supply system. On the other hand, serious water pollution further compromises the scare water resource- a situation that is clearly contrary to sustainable development of the sector. For many years, municipal water planner and engineers have relied on very simplistic assumptions about what determines per capita water use and equity to plan municipal water use. The current standard was adopted in 1986. With the rapid improvement of living standard in Beijing in recent years, as well as the increasing water shortage, municipal water planning are facing an ever strong pressure. How much water does different type of household use? What do they use the water for?

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

How much do households pay for water? What does that payment represent a proportion of household income? What is the amount of water that is sufficient to maintain certain living standard corresponding to the economic level? Questions such as these needed to be answered in order to carry out efficient water planning, balance supply and demand facilitate a sustainable water use. In fact, because of the lack of adequate data on household water demand, household water use behavior as well as households ability to cope with water shortage, urban water schemes and water-saving initiatives often fail to achieve the goals set for the amount of water produced, the efficiency of water use and proportion of costs recouped. The specific objective of this survey is to evaluate household water use with regard to the increasing living standard and the deleting water resources. By empirical investigation and analytical study, this research will provide policy relevant information and substantial data for municipal water planning in a timely fashion.

Current State of Knowledge

For a long time, water in Chinese cities has been taken as the real public good and a necessity to all the urban residents. Water supply issue has never been a problem until and after 1980s especially after 1984, which marked the opening of the urban system to the farmers. Coupled with the rapid economic development in recent two decades are the unprecedented urbanization process and the great improvement of the urban living standard. Many water gush apparatus become the routine equipment in households. According to Chinese Merchandise Price Index and Urban Household Income and Spending Statistics in 1997, the washing machine owned by per 100 urban households in Beijing and Tianjin were 101.4 and 96.8 sets, which are higher than the national average of 90 sets. The electrical water heaters in 100 urban families in Beijing and Tianjin are 52 and 39.4, which are also higher than the national average of 34.16. These translate into the rapid increase in water consumption in urban area. Since the urban water supply just became a problem in recent years, the residential water use accounts for very small portion in the total water consumption, the systematic survey which aims to understand how and where urban household use water like this has never been pursued.

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

But in terms of its long-term impact on the water resource and importance to the general public health of household water supply, the proposed survey will have wide policy implications.

Study Area
1. Beijing Beijing is the capital city of China with a population of 10.85 millions and the administrative area of 16807.8 square kilometers. In 1997, its GDP is 1810.1 hundred million Yuan ( USD $218.08 Hundred Million) which consists of 1st Industry 4.7%; 2nd Industry 40.8%; 3rd Industry 54.5%. (1998 Beijing Yearbooks) Beijijng has an urbanization level of 66.29 percent of its total population, which is much higher than the national average of 23.9 percent (1998 Statistics of the Designated Cities and Their
Population). Average household size is 2.86 persons. There are 9 water plants in Beijing with a

daily supply capacity of 3.018 million cubic meters by 1997. According to the Master Plan of Beijing, the total water demand by year 2000 and 2010 will be 43 and 49 hundred millions cubic meters respectively. Per capital municipal water consumption1 will increase from 247 liters in 1990 to 315 liters and 360 liters by the year 2000 and 2010. If the city can manage to keep the current consumption level, there will still a water shortage of 5 and 10 hundred million cubic meters in a normal by the year 2000 and 2010.

2. Tianjin Tianjin is one of the three independent metropolitan areas directly under the administration of the central government. In 1997, Tianjin has a population of 899.8 millions with an administration areas of 11,919.7 square kilometers. GDP amounted 1240.4 hundred million RMB Yuan ( USD $108.4 hundred millions) which consists of 1st industry 6%; 2nd industry 51.9%; 3rd industry 42.1%.(1998 Tianjin Yearbooks) Tianjins urbanization level is 56.67 percent, average household size is 3.16 persons. By the end of 1998, there are 5 water plants in Tianjin with a daily water supply capacity of 2.03 million cubic meters.( Tianjin Water Supply Company Statistics 1999) By the long-range forecasting
1

Municipal water use in Chinese includes the urban industrial, commercial, residential, environmental and uncounted for water use. Residential water consumption only is usually one third to one half of the municipal number.

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

of the Tianjin Master Plan which is under the revision, total demand by the year 2000 and 2010 will be 38.67 and 56.76 hundred millions cubic meters2. The forecasted water shortage will be 8.64 and 12.54 hundred millions cubic meters by the year 2000 and 2010 respectively.

Methodology
The survey consists of four stages of the works, viz., the development of questionnaire, the pilot survey, the full-scale survey and the final report. Questionnaire was written in both Chinese and English. Directly in door interview with the major family members was used in the pilot survey by the trained Chinese collages according to the questionnaire. The average interview lasts some thirty minutes. Four residential building typologies, which are representatives of the major urban settlement patterns in Chinese cities, were selected in Beijing and Tianjin. They are high- rise housing (higher than 7 with elevator); multi-story housing (less than 7- story); courtyard or two to three stories housing and infill housing (less than 7- story). According to Chinese housing design standard and long term policy, multi-story housing (less than 7 -story) and the high-rise housing will remain to be the major urban housing pattern in Chinese cities. The construction time ranges of the sampled housing types were varied from 1960s to 1990s. One of the residential districts Huayuan for example in Tianjin was just finished in 1998. The households were randomly chosen from those housing districts.

Interim Results
1. Building Type (BTYPE) : The sample households live in four different types of residential buildings which are typical in urban area. High-rise building accounts for 43.8percent, multistory building which is low than seven-story accounts for 40.6 percent , old courtyard or one to three stories traditional building 6.3 percent and infill building 9.3 percent respectively.

The water demand forecasted includes the agricultural use in all its rural districts and counties in the jurisdiction of Tianjin.

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

2. Household Profile Data 2.1 Occupation of the family head (PDHO) : 34.4% of the family heads are professionals, 28.1% are officers, 15.6% are clerks. Less than 7% of each group are blue-collar workers, retirees, self-employed as well as the employee in the service industry. 2.2 Education level of the family head (PDHE) : The majority of the family heads ( 62.5%) have a university education. Only 6.2% own a masters degree, 15.6% just finish high school, while another 15.6% are illiterates. 2.3 Age of the family head (PDHA) : Age of the family heads range from 27 years old to 86 years old , with an average age of 51 years old. 2.4 Family size (PDFS): Average family has 3.2 persons with the maximum one has six members while the minimum one has only one person. 2.5 Family with or without baby (PDBABY): 87.5% of the visited households do not have a baby who is defined as a child younger than three years old. Only 12.5% of the households have a baby. 2.6 Family type (PDFTYPE): 75% of the sample households are small nuclear families, while 25% are extended families with three generations under one roof.

3. Household Socioeconomic Data 3.1 Housing ownership (SE01): 50% of the housings are owned by companies and institutions in which the heads of families work, 31% are privately owned. 3.2 Average annual income per person (SE02): 56.3% of the families have an annual income per person more than RMB 8,000 yuan, 18.8% have less than RMB 3,000 yuan and 25% of the families are between RMB 5,000 8,000 yuan. 3.3 Age of the building (SE03): The majority of the buildings were built after 70s, of which those constructed between 70 80s are 50%, those after 1990 are 46.8%. 3.4 Monthly utility expenses (SE04): The sample families spend 15.8 yuan on household water, 64.2 yuan on electricity and 70.7 yuan on telephone service.

4. Water Amenities and Service Data 4.1 Source of household water (AS05): 100% of the sample households have the indoor tap water service as their major source of household water.

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

4.2 Water using appliances (AS06): 90% of the families have showers, 93.8% have flushing toilets, 53.1% have handbasins, 21.9% bathtubs, 96.9% washing machines. Only 3.1% have dishwashers. Other appliances such as electrical waterheaters is only popular among 37.5% of the households. 4.3 Bathing frequency (AS07): 34.3% of the family members take a shower once a day, while 15.6% of them wash every two days and another 15.6% take a shower every three days. There are 21.9% of the family members take a shower once a week. The variance among seasons especially between winter and summer is great. 4.4 Way of bathing (AS08): 84.4% of the families using shower while 12.5% of the household choosing tub bathing and other ways of bathing accounts for only 3.1%.
4.5 Time of bathing (AS09): The majority of the family members (62.5%) take twenty to

thirty minutes to finish their showers. Only 28.1% of them take less than ten minutes, while 9.4% of them take forty minutes to an hour to finish each bathing.
4.6 Laundry Frequency (AS10): 43.8% of the families wash their clothes everyday by

hand. 40.6% of the households go laundry every three days and most of them do not using washing machine neither. Only 15.6% of the families use washing machine each week.
4.7 Laundry Load (AS11): For those households using the washing machine, 43.8% of them

usually only do one load of laundry, 28.1% do two loads.

4.8 Household Drinking Water (AS12): 90.6% of the sample families depend upon the tap

water for daily drinking purpose. Only 9.4% of the households have other sources of water such as bottled mineral water, pure water and distilled water used for drinking.
4.9 The Amount of daily Drinking Water (AS13): The sample families drink an average

5.68 liters of water each day.

4.10 The Current Water Supply (AS 15):

Quality (AS15T): Only 3.1% of the families rank the current water quality excellent, while 40.6% of them think it is very good, 31.3% of them view it good, 18.8% think it is bad.

Taste (AS15T): 18.8% of the families think that the current water taste is excellent, 21.9% view it very good, 37.5% good and 18.8% think the teste is bad. Color (AS15C): 15.6% of the households view the current tap water color as excellent, 21.9% very good, 43.8% good and 18.7% bad.

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Pressure (AS15P): 59.4% of the visited household agree that the current water pressure is excellent, 21.9% very good. Only 6.3% of the families think it is bad.

4.11 Number of faucets (AS16): Each of the sample family has an average 4 taps with the maximum of eight and minimum of two. 4.12 Leaking tap (AS17): 75% of the families do not have the leaking taps and only 25% of them suffer from tap leakage. 4.13 Brown Water (AS18): 40.7% of the families have the brown water running out of their taps after the interruption of the water supply for certain hours. 4.14 Plumbing Maintenance (AS19): 56.3% of the households can have a maintenance in a timely-fashion way, while 21.8% of them do not have. 21.9% of the families do their own plumbing works. 4.15 Meter Reading (AS20): 48.4% of meters of families are read monthly, another 48.4% meters read every two months. 3.2% of the meters are read either irregularly or by employment companies. 4.16 Household Monthly Water Consumption (AS22): Each household consumes an average of fifteen tons of water every month. The minimum usage is three tons and maximum consumption is fifty-five tons respectively.

5. Household Water Use Behavior And Perception Data

5.1 Utility of Household Water (WB23): 37.5% of the households use the water for

drinking, cooking, bathing, laundering and toilet washing. 50% of them use water for flower watering as well except for the above purposes. Only 3.1% of the households use the water for car washing.
5.2 Water Conservation at Household Level (WB28): 37.5% of the households

have the water-saving measures such as reuse of the sullage or grey water for toilet washing, flower watering, etc. 62.5% of the families do not have any of those measures.

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

5.3 Existing Water Supply Service (WP29): 28.1% of the families think the

existing water supply service is excellent, 56.3% of them think it is very good, 12.5% is good and 3.1% is bad.
5.4 Water Rate (WP30): Half of the families do not know the existing water rate

per ton.
5.5 Water Rate (WP31): Only 15.6% of the families think the existing water rate is

too high, 75% of them think the rate is normal and 9.4% of them express that the rate is too low.
5.6 Comparing with other Utility Payments (WP32): By comparing with other

utility payments such as electricity fee, telephone charge, 18.8% of the families regard the water rate is too high, 59.4% of them think it is normal and another 18.8% think it is too low.
5.7 Aspects needed to be improved (WP33): 62.5% of the families agree that

water quality needed to be improved in the future, while 12.5% of the household think the aspect needed improvement is water pressure. Other aspects are water rate 9.4%, reliability 6.3%, and fee charging system 37.5%, service quality 18.8% and maintenance 18.8%.
5.8 Aspects needed to be improved Right Away (WP34): 53.1% of the families

rank the water quality as the most needed aspects to be improved right away. While 15.6% of the households think the priority should be given to maintenance, 12.5% think it is the billing system that needs to be upgraded.
5.9 Water-saving Incentive (WP35): 40.6% of the families will participate into an

water-saving incentive program in which the households using water less than certain amount say three tons per person per month will receive certain amount (ten to twenty percent) of the water fee rebate. Another 43.8% of the families express that they will just use enough water to meet their normal daily need and will make every effort to save as much water as they can.

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

5.10 Rebate Rate (WP36): 12.5% of the families will try to use less water if the

rebate rate is more than 30%. While 46.9% of the households will not care about any percentage of the rebate.
5.11 Willingness to Pay More (WP37): 81.3% of the families willing to pay more

if the water supply companies will future improve their service such as providing even higher quality water.
5.12 Maximum Water Rate (WP38): 43.8% of the families willing to pay a

maximum of water rate per cubic meter of 1.5 RMB yuan, 21.9% willing to pay 1.2 yuan. Only 9.4% of them willing to pay more than two yuan per cubic meter of water.
5.13 Extra Revenue (WP39): 75% of the families wish the water supply companies

can utilize the extra revenue to prevent water pollution, 71.9% of them hope the extra revenue can be used to improve water quality. 21.9% eager to use the money to upgrade management system, 18.8% for reliability and water pressure respectively.
5.14 Awareness of the Water Shortage (WP40): 68.8% of the families are aware

of the water shortage in the region.

5.15 Water Conservation Propaganda (WP41): 81.3% of the household notice

some forms of water conservation advertisements either by media or posters.

5.16 Water Conservation Program (WP 42): 90.6% f the families are willing to

take part into the water conservation program such as retrofit of water using appliances with the subsidy of government.
5.17 Expense assumed (WP43): 18.8% of the families are willing to pay more than

500 RMB yuan, 37.5% of them are will pay between 101 to 200 yuan. 18.8% between 201 to 300 yuan, 6.3% between 301 to 400 yuan and another 6.3% 401 to 500 yuan respectively.

Areas for Future Research

Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing and Tianjin Region Water Demand Estimation 1999 CIDA Funded Project Team

School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

The pilot survey, as its name suggests, is a preliminary study per se which serves its purpose mainly to check the validity and relevance of each question for the pre-designed questionnaire. The small sample size limits the scope of the conclusions. Therefore, the findings in this report need to be further verified in the full-scale survey. Because of the limited analysis which is just the frequency counts for each answers, the major factors that affect the urban residential water use can not be clearly defined. An analytical model should be built in future survey analysis in order to capture the general picture of urban residential water use and demand pattern as well as their possible trend.

Conclusions
The pilot survey indicated that the questionnaire in general could effectively induce the necessary information to understand the urban household water use. There are several questions such as those concerning with the water shortage situation need either future modification either reconstructed or just writing them off. (Please refer to the questionnaire review for specific revisions) The format of the questionnaire can be also improved to include coded answers that can be directly filled out during the interview in order to minimize the coding workload after the survey.