AWWA SOURCES59212

This paper gives an account of the urban water supply process in theAutonomous Region of Madrid (Spain), with a view to obtaining a greater in-depthunderstanding of the demand situation. At present 5.5 million inhabitants are providedwith drinking water in the area. The process followed is basically practical, theapproach was focussed on the improvement of the planning and operating methods forthe supply system, and the demand management activities play a major role in thisrespect. The method followed was developed in three stages and lasted four years, butthe total cost amounted to less than 0.002 Euros per m3 supplied per year. Each phaseserved to increase precision where quantifying the factors explaining the monthly, dailyand hourly demand patterns was concerned. The process began by providing a detailedanalysis of the information available, followed by a survey involving 5,000 users, afterwhich photogrammetric and mapping information of the outdoor uses was processedand finally, the end uses in 300 households were monitored every second. Includes figures.



Keywords: Madrid, Spain; Water Supply; Planning; Management; Performance