Introduction to Water Use
This factsheet is the Water Use Tools site.
Water Use
This section is dedicated to water consumption by different water users (households, agriculture, industry) as well as the purposes for water use (domestic use, tourism, electricity generation, fishery, transport etc.). The way that water is used had a direct influence on the composition of wastewater as well as on the methods of adequate treatment.
- Hardware
- Software
- Sections
- Creating and Enabling Environment
- Optimisation of Water Use at Home
- Awareness Raising
- Optimisation of Water Use in Industries
- Command and Control Tools
- Optimisation of Water Use in Agriculture
- Reuse in Agriculture
- Economic Tools
- Conservation of Soil Moisture
- Water for Energy
- Toilet Systems
Creating and Enabling Environment
Creating Policies and a Legal Framework (WU)
A core governmental role is to formulate policies, through which the government can delimit the activities of all sanitation and water management…
Building an Institutional Framework (WU)
The term “institutional framework” refers to a set of formal organisational structures, rules and informal norms for service provision. Such a…
Strengthening Enforcement Bodies (WU)
Enforcement bodies have a very important role in establishing and ensuring the effective application of other software tools in sustainable…
Developing Human Resources (WU)
The development of human resources is at the core of sustainable development. People and communities that are empowered with the necessary knowledge…
Optimisation of Water Use at Home
Wastewater Reuse at Home
Domestic water use represents a growing proportion of global water use. Water use optimisation means resistance to chronic and short-term water…
Reduce Water Consumption at Home
Humans use over half of all accessible water runoff. Of total water use less than 10% is used for domestic use. Households are the smallest consumers…
Simple Handwashing Devices
Hand washing with soap is the simplest way to prevent a variety of pathogens from entering our bodies and making us sick. Children living in…
Awareness Raising
School Campaigns (WU)
A school campaign on water and sanitation consists of two main components: one component is the provision of safe water and sanitation facilities in…
SSWM in School Curriculums (WU)
This tool involves the integration of relevant sustainable water, hygiene and sanitation topics into school education in order to increase knowledge…
Empowering Young People as Promoters (WU)
Empowering young people as promoters in the field of water and sanitation is a way of assuring that a project or programme has a greater effect and…
Media Campaigns - Internet and Email (WU)
The media (television, radio, print media, internet and email) play a significant role in spreading information and raising awareness on water and…
Media Campaigns - Posters and Flyers (WU)
The media (television, radio, print media, internet and email) play a significant part in spreading information on Sustainable Sanitation and Water…
Media Campaigns - Radio (WU)
The media (television, radio, print media, internet and email) play a significant role in spreading information and raising awareness on water and…
Media Campaigns - Video (WU)
The media (video, radio, print media, internet and email) play a significant part in spreading information on SSWM and in awareness raising. They…
Creating Information Material (WU)
Creating appropriate and specific information materials for water and sanitation programmes is of key importance and a way to assure a strong and…
Advocacy - Influencing Leaders (WU)
"Advocacy is the action of delivering an argument to gain commitment from political and social leaders and to prepare a society for a particular…
Corporate Social Responsibility (WU)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the continuing commitment by businesses to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while…
Optimisation of Water Use in Industries
Wastewater Reuse in Industry
Reusing water in industry has the potential to reduce the costs of water supply and wastewater treatment by industries and reduces pressure on water…
Reduce Water Consumption in Industry
Water savings can be achieved in industry through a combination of changing behaviour, modifying and/or replacing equipment with water saving…
Reuse Water within a Business
Water re-use options for industry include water cooling towers, reusing process water for washing, industrial fire protection, production line needs…
Reuse Water between Businesses
Industries require different qualities of water and other flow streams like chemicals, energy, nutrients, etc. These by-products can be traded in…
Command and Control Tools
Restrictions in Water Use
Restrictions and prohibitions are a part of command & control tools which are regulatory instruments that are direct and mandatory. Restrictions…
Standards (WU)
Standards are requirements based on risk limits. They are often established by authorities to impose levels of pollution control by determining…
Optimisation of Water Use in Agriculture
Surface Irrigation
Surface irrigation is mainly divided in basin, border, and furrow systems. It is widely utilised and therefore a well-known system, which can be…
Manual Irrigation
Manual irrigation systems are very simple, but effective methods for making water available to crops. Manual irrigation systems are easy to handle…
Automatic Irrigation
An automated irrigation system refers to the operation of the system with no or just a minimum of manual intervention beside the surveillance. Almost…
Sprinkler Irrigation
Sprinkler irrigation is a method of providing rainfall-like irrigation to the crops. Water is distributed through a system of pipes usually by…
Drip Irrigation
Drip irrigation is a technique in which water flows through a filter into special drip pipes, with emitters located at different spacing. Water is…
Subsurface Drip Irrigation
Subsurface drip irrigation is a variation from conventional surface drip irrigation techniques. By minimising evaporation it uses water more…
Spate Irrigation
Spate irrigation is a crop irrigation technique consisting of diverting seasonal stormwater from valleys, rivers, riverbeds and gullies by gravity…
Reuse in Agriculture
Fish Pond (Aquaculture)
Fish can be grown in ponds that receive effluent or sludge where they can feed on algae and other organisms that grow in the nutrient-rich water. The…
Vertical Gardens
The term vertical garden refers to any kind of construction and support structure for growing plants in an upwards-directed, vertical way and thereby…
Greywater Towers
A greywater tower is a circular bag, which is filled with soil, ash and/or compost mixture and a gravel column at the centre. It is used to treat and…
Retention Basin
Retention basins are among the most frequently implemented storm water management systems. They are used to collect surface runoff and to improve the…
Floating Plant Pond
A floating plant pond is a modified maturation pond with floating (macrophyte) plants. Plants such as water hyacinths or duckweed float on the…
Irrigation
To reduce dependence on freshwater and maintain a constant source of water for irrigation throughout the year, wastewater of varying quality can be…
Stormwater Management
Stormwater management means to manage surface runoff. It can be applied in rural areas (e.g. to harvest precipitation water), but is essential in…
Economic Tools
Subsidies (WU)
A subsidy (also known as a subvention) is a form of financial assistance paid to an individual, a business or an economic sector in order to achieve…
Water Pricing - Fixed Water Charge
Water and wastewater tariffs determine the level of revenues that service providers receive from users in centralised or semi-centralised systems for…
Water Pricing - Increasing Block Tariffs
Water and wastewater tariffs determine the level of revenues that service providers receive from users in centralised or semi-centralised systems for…
Water Pricing - Uniform Volumetric Charge
Water and wastewater tariffs determine the level of revenues that service providers receive from users in centralised or semi-centralised systems for…
Tradable Water Rights
Tradable water rights are one of several market-based instruments used in water management and pollution control. In economic theory, they are…
Water Charges
Water charges are a widely used economic instrument implied mainly by federal governments to better control water use and water pollution by imposing…
Water Pricing - General
In July 2010, the UN general assembly proclaimed access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right. At the same time, water and…
Water Pricing - Decreasing Block Tariffs
Water and wastewater tariffs determine the level of revenues that service providers receive from users in centralised or semi-centralised systems for…
Conservation of Soil Moisture
Conservation Tillage
The adaption of tillage techniques helps improve soil conditions. Less tilling, lesser tillage depth, or no tillage at all has directly positive…
Soil Cover and Reforestation
Soil cover and reforestation is a mechanism to protect soil from water loss. Like the protection of an umbrella, soil cover and reforestation…
Soil Amendment
Soil amendment includes all inorganic and organic substances mixed into the soil for achieving a better soil constitution regarding plant…
Mulching
Mulch is a material placed on the soil surface to maintain moisture, reduce weed growth, mitigate soil erosion and improve soil conditions. Mulching…
Crop Selection
Different crops need different type of soils, different types and amounts of nutrients, and different types and amounts of water. The amount of water…
Water for Energy
Hydropower (Large-scale)
Hydropower is a method of generating electricity that uses moving water (kinetic energy) to produce electricity. In large-scale hydropower plants the…
Hydropower (Small-scale)
Hydropower is a method of generating electricity that uses moving water (kinetic energy) to produce electricity. Small-scale hydropower has been used…
Mechanical Water Use
The force of water has been used for centuries to produce mechanical power. In remote villages and among low-income regions around the world, daily…
Toilet Systems
Fill and Cover / Arborloo
To decommission a pit, it can simply be filled with soil and covered. Although there is no received benefit, the full pit poses no immediate health…
Terra Preta Toilets
Urine diversion terra preta toilets are a low cost, dry terra preta sanitation (TPS) systems based on urine diversion and the addition of charcoal…
Urine-Diverting Dry Toilet (UDDT)
A urine-diverting dry toilet (UDDT) is a toilet that operates without water and has a divider so that the user, with little effort, can divert the…
Pour flush Toilet
A pour flush toilet is like a regular cistern flush toilet except that the water is poured in by the user, instead of coming from the cistern above.…
Double Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP)
The double VIP has almost the same design as the single VIP with the added advantage of a second pit that allows it to be used continuously and…
Composting Chamber
Composting refers to the process by which biodegradable components are biologically decomposed by microorganisms (mainly bacteria and fungi) under…
Fossa Alterna
The Fossa Alterna is a short cycle alternating, waterless (dry) double pit technology. Compared to the [8239-double VIP] which is just designed to…
The Peepoo
The Peepoo is a self-sanitising biodegradable personal single-use toilet. It is especially suitable for urban slum areas and in emergency relief…
Urine-Diverting Flush Toilet (UDFT)
The urine-diverting flush toilet (UDFT) is similar in appearance to a cistern flush toilet except for the diversion in the bowl. The toilet bowl has…
Cistern Flush Toilet
The cistern flush toilet is usually made of porcelain and is a mass-produced, factory-made user interface. The flush toilet consists of a water tank…
Low-flush Toilets
A low-flush or low-flow toilet is a flush toilet that is adapted in order to use significantly less water than a full-flush toilet. Low-flush toilets…
Vacuum Toilet
Vacuum toilets are flush toilets that use suction for the removal of faeces and urine resulting in a minimal requirement of water (0.5 to 1.5 litres…
Urinal
An urinal is used only for collecting urine. Urinals are generally for men, although models for women have also been developed. Most urinals use…
Dry Toilet
A dry toilet is a toilet that operates without flushwater. The dry toilet may be a raised pedestal on which the user can sit, or a squat pan over…
Single Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP)
The single VIP is a ventilated improved pit. It is an improvement over the [8237-single pit] because continuous airflow through the ventilation pipe…
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