Water Demand Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the water demand calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

Formulas Used

Average Daily Demand

avg_daily = population * per_capita / 1000

Average Daily Demand

avg_daily_mld = population * per_capita / 1e6

Peak Day Demand

peak_daily = population * per_capita / 1000 * peak_factor

Peak Day Flow Rate

peak_lps = population * per_capita * peak_factor / (24 * 3600)

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
populationPopulation Served10000
per_capitaPer Capita Demand(L/person/day)200
peak_factorPeak Day Factor1.5

How It Works

Municipal Water Demand Estimation

Water demand planning starts with population and per-capita consumption estimates.

Formulas

Average daily demand = Population x Per capita consumption

Peak day demand = Average x Peak day factor

Per-capita consumption includes domestic, commercial, industrial, and losses (unaccounted-for water). Peak factors account for seasonal and daily variation.

Worked Example

A town of 10,000 people with 200 L/person/day consumption and 1.5 peak factor.

population = 10000per_capita = 200peak_factor = 1.5
  1. 01Average daily = 10,000 x 200 = 2,000,000 L/day = 2000 m^3/day = 2.0 MLD
  2. 02Peak daily = 2000 x 1.5 = 3000 m^3/day
  3. 03Peak flow = 10000 x 200 x 1.5 / 86400 = 34.7 L/s

Ready to run the numbers?

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