Water Demand in Environmental Engineering – Complete Guide for JE Exam Preparation

 

1. Concept Explanation (Exam-Focused)

Water Demand is the total quantity of water required per capita per day for all purposes in a community.
In SSC JE / RRB JE exams, questions are usually direct, formula-based, or statement-oriented.

Types of Water Demand

  1. Domestic Demand – Drinking, cooking, bathing (largest share)
  2. Industrial Demand – Depends on type of industry
  3. Public Use Demand – Schools, hospitals, parks
  4. Fire Demand – Asked directly in numericals
  5. Losses & Wastage – Leakage, theft (10–20%)

📌 Exam Focus:
Per capita demand values
Fire demand formulas
Peak factors
Unit conversions (MLD LPCD)


2. Important Formulas (Highly Repeated)

1️ Per Capita Demand

$$q = \frac{Q}{P}$$

Where:
q = Per capita demand (LPCD)
Q = Total daily water supply (L/day)
P = Population

2️ Total Water Demand

$$Q = P \times q$$

3️ Fire Demand Formulas (VERY IMPORTANT)

🔥 Kuichling’s Formula (Most Asked)

$$Q = 3182 \sqrt{P}$$

🔥 Freeman’s Formula

$$Q = 1136 \left( \frac{P}{5} + 10 \right)$$

🔥 Buston’s Formula

$$Q = 5663 \sqrt{P}$$

🧠 Mnemonic:
“KFB – Know Fire Before exam”


3. Short Notes / One-Liners (Last-Day Revision)

Standard per capita demand in India = 135 LPCD
Domestic demand 50–60% of total demand
Fire demand is independent of daily demand
Leakage allowance = 10–20%
Peak hourly demand = 1.5–2.7 × average


4. PYQ Patterns (SSC JE / RRB JE)

🔹 Fire demand formulas appear every 2–3 years
🔹 Units confusion: L/min vs m³/day (major trap)
🔹 Questions on per capita demand values
🔹 MCQs based on incorrect statements

Typical Trap:
Population given in thousands, formula needs actual population


5. Solved Examples

Example 1 (Numerical – SSC JE Level)

Population = 50,000
Per capita demand = 135 LPCD



Answer: 6.75 MLD


Example 2 (Fire Demand – Conceptual)

Using Kuichling’s Formula




6. MCQs (Exam Level – Water Demand)

MCQ Set (30 Questions)

  1. Standard per capita water demand in India is:
    A) 100 B) 135 C) 150 D) 200
    Ans: B – CPHEEO standard
  2. Largest component of water demand is:
    A) Industrial B) Fire C) Domestic D) Losses
    Ans: C
  3. Unit of fire demand is:
    A) LPCD B) MLD C) L/min D) m³/hr
    Ans: C
  4. Kuichling’s formula depends on:
    A) Area B) Population C) Rainfall D) Pressure
    Ans: B
  5. Leakage allowance usually considered is:
    A) 5% B) 10–20% C) 30% D) 50%
    Ans: B

6. Per capita demand is expressed in:

A) m³/day
B) L/min
C) LPCD
D) MLD
Answer: C
📝 Explanation: Per capita demand = Litres Per Capita Per Day (LPCD)


7. If population doubles, fire demand (Kuichling) will:

A) Double
B) Become half
C) Increase by √2 times
D) Remain same
Answer: C
📝 Explanation: Fire demand P


8. Which demand is independent of daily water consumption?

A) Domestic
B) Industrial
C) Fire
D) Public
Answer: C
📝 Explanation: Fire demand depends only on population


9. Standard per capita demand recommended by CPHEEO is:

A) 90 LPCD
B) 110 LPCD
C) 135 LPCD
D) 150 LPCD
Answer: C


10. Fire demand is generally expressed in:

A) m³/day
B) LPCD
C) L/min
D) MLD
Answer: C


11. Losses in water distribution are mainly due to:

A) Evaporation
B) Leakage & theft
C) Fire demand
D) Storage
Answer: B


12. Domestic demand constitutes approximately:

A) 20–30%
B) 30–40%
C) 50–60%
D) 70–80%
Answer: C


13. If per capita demand is 135 LPCD, total demand for 10,000 population is:

A) 0.135 MLD
B) 1.35 MLD
C) 13.5 MLD
D) 135 MLD
Answer: B
📝 Explanation:
Q = 10,000 × 135 = 1,350,000 L/day = 1.35 MLD


14. Peak hourly demand is usually:

A) Equal to average
B) Less than average
C) 1.5–2.7 times average
D) 5 times average
Answer: C


15. Which formula gives the minimum fire demand value?

A) Kuichling
B) Freeman
C) Buston
D) All equal
Answer: A
📝 Explanation: Kuichling gives the lowest estimate


16. Industrial water demand mainly depends on:

A) Climate
B) Population
C) Type of industry
D) Rainfall
Answer: C


17. 1 MLD is equal to:

A) 1000 L/day
B) 10⁶ L/day
C) 10⁵ L/day
D) 10³ m³/day
Answer: B


18. A town has population 40,000. Using Kuichling’s formula, fire demand ≈

A) 18,000 L/min
B) 20,100 L/min
C) 25,000 L/min
D) 30,000 L/min
Answer: B
📝 Explanation:
Q = 3182√40 ≈ 20,100 L/min


19. Which is NOT a component of water demand?

A) Domestic
B) Industrial
C) Fire
D) Rainwater
Answer: D


20. If losses are taken as 15%, effective demand is:

A) Less than total demand
B) Equal to total demand
C) Greater than calculated demand
D) Zero
Answer: C
📝 Explanation: Losses are added to calculated demand


21. Public use demand includes:

A) Factories
B) Schools & parks
C) Houses
D) Fire stations
Answer: B


22. Average daily demand refers to:

A) Maximum hourly demand
B) Minimum demand
C) Mean of yearly consumption
D) Fire demand
Answer: C


23. If population is given in thousands, fire demand formula requires:

A) Same value
B) Population in lakhs
C) Actual population
D) Population in millions
Answer: C
📝 Trap Alert: Very common JE mistake


24. Which demand varies the most during the day?

A) Industrial
B) Fire
C) Domestic
D) Public
Answer: C


25. Burst pipe losses fall under:

A) Fire demand
B) Industrial demand
C) Losses & wastage
D) Public demand
Answer: C


26. Maximum daily demand is approximately:

A) Equal to average
B) 1.8 times average
C) 3 times average
D) 5 times average
Answer: B


27. Which statement is TRUE?

A) Fire demand is measured in LPCD
B) Domestic demand is smallest
C) Losses are unavoidable
D) Industrial demand is fixed
Answer: C


28. If per capita demand increases, total demand will:

A) Decrease
B) Remain same
C) Increase
D) Become zero
Answer: C


29. Which demand is considered only for design of mains?

A) Domestic
B) Industrial
C) Fire
D) Losses
Answer: C


30. Peak factor is the ratio of:

A) Average to minimum demand
B) Maximum to average demand
C) Fire to domestic demand
D) Losses to total demand
Answer: B

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