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C4 – Household water use per capita in Georgia

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Key messages

In 2018, Georgian citizens used on average 90.6 m3 of water supplied to households from renewable freshwater resources. This corresponds to approximately 248 l of water used per person on daily basis.

About 34.2 % of the total population of Georgia was not connected to the public water supply in 2018 and had to manage their water demand by self-supply.

Is household water use per capita decreasing in Georgia?

Figure 1 – Development of total freshwater use by households in Georgia (2015-2018)

Data sources:

C-4. Household water use per capita provided by National Statistics Office of Georgia

 

Figure 2- Development of household water use per capita in Georgia (2015-2018)

Data sources:

C-4. Household water use per capita provided by National Statistics Office of Georgia

 

Georgia is non-water-stressed country. The annual water exploitation index varies from around 3 % to around 7 % . Water supplied to households is mainly used for drinking and cooking; hygiene, including basic needs for personal and domestic cleanliness; and amenity use such as car washing, lawn watering, etc. (Howard and Bartram, 2003).

In 2018, on average, a Georgian citizen used 90.6 m3 of water from renewable freshwater resources during the year. This corresponds to approximately 248 l of freshwater/capita per day.

Georgia has been improving its water supply network during recent years. About 40.5 % of the total population was not connected to the water supply in 2015, but this had decreased by 6.3 % in 2018. Although Georgia is a non-water-stressed country, about 34.2 % of the population in Georgia were not connected to the public water supply in 2018 and had to manage their water demand by self-supply. In addition, the water supply network is in poor condition, causing the network to lose 66.4 % of the total water losses in the network.

Indicator specification

Indicator definition

The quantity of water used to cover the household and related utility needs of the population through the water supply industry and self-supply.

Units

Volumes of water used by households in total are measured in million cubic metres and per capita in cubic meter.

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

The indicator is important for defining the level of development of the water economy services and the degree of water accessibility to cover all the household needs of the population. The indicator also helps to identify trends in household water use.

According to the national law on water, everyone is obliged to ensure rational and sustainable water use and protection, not to allow its pollution, or unnecessary waste and disposal.

Scientific references

Howard, G. and Bartram, J., 2003. Domestic Water Quantity, Service Level and Health. World Health Organization, WHO/SDE/WSH/03.02, Geneva, Switzerland.

UNECE, 2016. Environmental Performance Review- Georgia. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Committee on Environmental Policy, Environmental Performance Reviews Series No. 43, 978-92-1-057683-3, New York and Geneva.

UNECE, 2018. Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators, Description of C4: Household water use per capita.

UNECE, 2018. Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators, Glossary of terms – C4: Household water use per capita.

UNSD, 2012. International Recommendations for Water Statistics, Department of Economic and Social Affairs Statistics Division, Statistical papers, Series M No. 91, ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/91, ISBN: 978-92-1-161545-6, New York.

Policy context and targets

Context description

National policy context

Enhancing the environment, ensuring the protection and sustainable use of natural resources and avoiding risks that threaten the health and well-being of the population is the overall target of the third national programme for the environmental protection of Georgia, 2017-2021.

International policy context

SDG 6 of the Sustainable Development Agenda for the period up to 2030 is to ‘ensure access to water and sanitation for all’. Target 6.1 of SDG 6 aims, ‘by 2030, to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all’. Similarly, target 6.2 aims to ‘by 2030, achieving access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations’.

Targets

Although no quantitative target has been set, enhancing the environment, ensuring the protection and sustainable use of natural resources and avoiding risks that threaten the health and well-being of the population is the overall target of the third national programme for the environmental protection of Georgia, 2017-2021.

UN SDG target 6.4 – ‘by 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity’.

Related policy documents

development agenda.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

Units and equations

ID

Component

Units

Equation

C4.1

Water supplied to households by water supply industry

million m3/year

 

C4.2

Population connected to water supply industry (estimation)

million persons

 

C4.3

Water use per capita (water supply industry)

m3/capita/year

= C 4.1/C 4.2

C4.4

Population not connected to water supply industry (self-supply; estimation)

million people

= C 4.8 - C 4.2

C4.5

Estimated water use by households supplied by self-supply per capita

m3/capita/year

 

C4.6

Water use in the country (self-supply)

million m3/year

= C 4.4  C 4.5

C4.7

Total water use by households

million m3/year

= C 4.1 + C 4.6

C4.8

Total population

million people

 

C4.9

Total household water use (water supply industry and self-supply) per capita

m3/capita/year

= C 4.7/C 4.8

Methodology for gap filling

No gap filling has been performed.

Methodology references

  • EEA, 2005. EEA core set of indicators guide. EEA Technical report No 1/2005, ISBN 92-9167-757-4, Luxembourg.

  • UNECE, 2018. Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators, Data template – C4: Household water use per capita.

  • UNECE, 2018. Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators, Description of C4: Household water use per capita.

  • UNECE, 2018. Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators, Glossary of terms – C4: Household water use per capita.

  • UNSD and UNEP, 2013. Questionnaire 2013 on Environment Statistics. United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme, Questionnaire 2013 on Environment Statistics, Section Water.

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

 

Because of the estimation used for water use by households supplied by self-supply per capita, the indicator ‘C4 – household water use per capita’ is not fully accurate (except for the components C4.1 ‘water supplied to households by water supply industry’ and C4.8 ‘total population’).

 

The per capita volume of water used in households supplied by self-supply is estimated using the average consumption per capita in households with water supplied by water supply companies.
The indicator is calculated on the basis of data obtained from the survey of water supply enterprises since 2015 and is not calculated for the previous years.

 

The water supplied to households by the water supply industry does not include the volume of water used by enterprise employees for personal needs outside the households.

Data sets uncertainty

The Geostat website (https://www.geostat.ge/en/modules/categories/565/environmental-indicators) provides the data for the total water supply to households and water use per capita for both public supply and self-supply only for the years 2015-2018. The source of information needed for indicators is collected via the survey of water supply enterprises. The study is carried out annually by the Geostat, and all active enterprises engaged in water-related activities in Georgia are interviewed. As a result of the survey, data are collected on water supply, sewerage and waste water treatment. Based on the data obtained from the survey of water supply enterprises, Geostat calculates four water indicators developed by the UNECE: household water use per capita (C4), water supply industry and population connected to the water supply industry (C5) water losses (C7) and the population connected to waste water treatment (C14).

Rationale uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified.

Data sources