Sustainable management of the groundwater resource of Jaffna, Sri Lanka with the participation of households: Insights from a study on household water consumption and management

Groundwater is the only source of water for drinking, domestic, and agricultural needs in Jaffna, a district in northern Sri Lanka. While the sustainability challenges to this groundwater resource in terms of water availability and quality have been highlighted and studied extensively through existing research, household water consumption and management practices have been overlooked. Hence, this study tried to investigate on household water consumption pattern and management practices along with comparing the effectiveness of different water management measures on reducing water deficit of the district. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire survey from 142 households belonging to a water rich rural area, a water scarce rural area, a coastal area and an urban area. The data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Based on the results there was no statistically significant difference in average per capita consumption among the different areas studied and on average a person in Jaffna, Sri Lanka consumes 200 L per day. Also, household size and households having their own water source are the two most important predictors of total water consumed in a household. In addition, more than half of the respondent households do not engage in water conservation at their households at present due to continuous access to water through their own water source. Further analysis on the effectiveness of management interventions by using Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) modeling on reducing deficit showed that if the current consumption patterns continue, there will be an unmet demand of 51.7 million cubic meters (MCM) of water in the year 2030. On the other hand, by implementing the management interventions, such as increasing recharge, reducing per capita consumption, having additional water sources, reducing non-revenue water, and installing a water treatment plant, together all the water demand for the year 2030 can be met.