Water Demand Management at Urban Scale Using GIS Data : A case study for Managua, Nicaragua

The capital of Nicaragua, Managua, has presented over the years many water issues. Overpopulation and lack urban planning, aside from poverty problems and poor governance have poluted the main reservoir, the Managua lake. The water planning has bumped with lack or resources to meet water demand of an ever increasing population. The use of water demand techniques seems to be a optimal option to solve the main water problems of many of the inhabitants. Considering the actual problems and characteristics of the city, the authors ends up providing a series of simple actions, which may reduce the water problems. Including the creation of metering areas, incresing dialog with the population or leak detection in the water pipes, leading to the reduction of unaccounted for water, and increased efficiency in the distribution of the resource.