Household water consumption behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with COVID-19 cases

Abstract

The use of existing water resources and sustainability problems as a result of global warming and climate change became an even bigger problem with the importance of hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this research, the water consumption behavior will be researched and the correlation between water consumption and COVID-19 case numbers will be investigated in Bursa, Turkey. The monthly mean water consumption for 758, 500 domicile subscribers using the central tariff from 2018–2020 was calculated. Results obtained using the SPSS 23 IBM program observed a 20.18% increase in water consumption in Bursa in general during COVID-19. As Bursa province has both rural and industrial urban structures, when this increase is examined on a county basis, increase rates were 10% in regions with dense industry and mean 34% in rural areas. When the correlation between case numbers during the COVID-19 period (March 2020-January 2021) and water consumption is examined, a negative correlation is notable (Pearson-Correlation=-0.616). As the case numbers increased in the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the reduction in water consumption may be explained by warnings to citizens to reduce water use through written and oral media due to reservoir fill rates falling below 5%. These results provide beneficial information revealing the effects of COVID-19 on water consumption behavior and use of water resources in urban and rural areas.