TY - JOUR TI - Understanding water use in Phoenix, AZ DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3XW4H4Z PY - 2014 AB - Water managers in Arizona are facing difficulties due to population and urban infrastructure growth. An understanding of water use patterns is critical to the management of urban water resources. This study focuses on estimating spatial and socioeconomic patterns of water users in the Phoenix Metro area through a series of statistical analysis. Using total water use for 2010 as a dependent variable and 36 socioeconomic characteristics as explanatory variables, four statistical methods were used to analyze the relationships: 1) Individual regression analyses, 2) A multivariate regression analysis 3) a principal components analysis (PCA) and 4) a principal components regression. Results show that water users between ages of 55 to 69 by census tract correlated strongest with total water use in 2010. Results of the multivariate regression of seven socioeconomic variables were able to explain 77% of the variability of water use across the study area. PCA analysis identified three components of socioeconomic variables that in combination explained 73% of water use. From the components four specific socioeconomic groups were identified: high income retiree populations, large Hispanic families, high income families, and low to middle income populations. To analyze the spatial clustering of water use and socio-economic data, local index of spatial autocorrelation (LISA) mapping was used. The identified socioeconomic clusters were found to overlay political boundaries. Recommendations presented include possible water use patterns for each identified socioeconomic group and some suggested programs that may be beneficial to water management. LISA results also suggest that addressing intra-city water management to account for the spatial variability of water use their users across political boundaries is important. The analysis presented here may be used as tool to identify broad spatial and statistical water use patterns, but it has limitations to understanding patterns at the level of households. KW - Geography KW - Water demand management--Arizona--Phoenix KW - Water consumption--Arizona--Phoenix LA - eng ER -