Abstract
Lahore, with a population of more than 11 million people, is a fast expanding urban center which owes its location and its very existence to the River Ravi. To gain access to the pattern of the habits and practices of the people of Lahore regarding domestic water usage, a survey was conducted by circulating a questionnaire to 800 respondents. These respondents were randomly selected from the five localities of the city, earmarked for this purpose. Each question offered 3-5 possible answers and a set of useful conclusion was drawn from these answers. The people living in big and large houses were found to spend more water on daily routines. It is particularly so in the older localities like Gulberg and Lahore Cantonment Board. It was found that the majority, up to 50 percent in large houses, keep water tap running while brushing teeth, shaving or washing face. The same habit persists during shampooing and soaping while showering. Only 40 percent of the respondents closed the showers, sometime during this process while up to 15 percent never did that. Washing of bathroom is another regular habit and up to 100 percent respondents wash their bathrooms daily especially in big and large houses. DHA seems to be the only exception where 80 percent bathrooms were washed daily. Dish washing is mostly done by hand with only from 2-5 percent using dishwashers. Water used for car washing, washing of drive ins and lawn watering was found to be a regular routine and mostly done on daily or on an alternative day basis.