Water Use in the Multi-Family Housing Sector

Webcast
​According to the U.S. Census, approximately 25% of U.S. housing can be classified as multi-family. Research has tended to focus on water use in the single-family residential sector. Unlike the single-family sector, however, the multi-family sector can be harder to define and is complicated by the issue of scale, since more than one dwelling unit or household is typically served by one or more water meters.  


This webcast presented and discussed research regarding Water Use in the Multi-Family Housing Sector (project #4554). Using information from multiple case study utilities and other data sources describing the multi-family sector, the presentation addressed trends and knowledge gaps, including the extent to which water use in the multi-family sector differs from water use in the single-family sector and factors that can explain these differences. The presentation evaluated variability in water use within the multi-family sector, examining whether there are significant differences in consumption patterns within identifiable segments of the sector. The discussion highlighted the influence of key explanatory variables that utilities should consider when characterizing and forecasting trends in this increasingly important sector.