The impact of air temperature on tap water consumption
author:
WOJCIECH CIEŻAK, MAŁGORZATA KUTYŁOWSKA, MONIKA NOWAKOWSKA
ORCID ID:
0000-0001-6210-8728, 0000-0001-8425-9041, 0000-0002-6406-4447
No:
12/2025 Instal pp.103-108
DOI:
10.36119/15.2025.12.18
This article analyzes the impact of a sudden drop in air temperature associated with the passage of the Genoese low in
September 2024 on the water consumption pattern in a small distribution system located near Wrocław. The aim of the
study was to investigate changes in the hourly distribution of water consumption caused by a sudden thermal anomaly.
The study was conducted using 30 days of operational data (August 22-September 20, 2024), comparing daily and
hourly water consumption with the maximum daily temperature. A significant, positive linear correlation (R=0.76) was
found between maximum air temperature and water consumption for daily values, confirming that warmer days imply
higher consumption, while sudden cooling leads to a reduction. The highest daily consumption (465.71 m³/d) was
recorded during the heatwave, while after a sudden weather breakdown in mid-September, consumption dropped to
only 56% of the maximum value. In turn, the analysis of hourly water consumption showed that this relationship is non-
linear. Therefore, an exponential function was proposed to describe the relationship between hourly consumption and
temperature, considering linear regression to be inadequate. The results highlight the need to update water
consumption forecasting models to account for the dynamic impact of rapid meteorological fluctuations.
Keywords:
About Authors:
dr inż. Wojciech Cieżak https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6210-8728 e-mail: wojciech.ciezak@pwr.edu.pl,
dr hab. inż. Małgorzata Kutyłowska, prof. uczelni https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8425-9041 e-mail: malgorzata.kutylowska@pwr.edu.pl,
dr inż. Monika Nowakowska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6406-4447 e-mail: monika.nowakowska@pwr.edu.pl, (autor korespondencyjny)
‒ Wydział Inżynierii Środowiska, Politechnika Wrocławska, Wrocław
