Peak Demands in Residential Areas

In January 1959, the Department of Sanitary Engineering and Water Resources of Johns Hopkins University undertook a research project on peak water usage in residential areas. This project was sponsored jointly by Baltimore County, Baltimore City, the Maryland Health Department, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). More than 2 years have passed since the inception of the project, and a considerable amount of new and valuable information has been obtained. This article describes some of the accomplishments of the first 2 years of this project and suggests some possible additional fields of investigation. The primary objectives of this project were to obtain data on, and to make an evaluation of, maximum hourly demands in residential areas. Attention was also directed to obtaining information on the effect of lawn sprinkling and other large water uses on maximum demands in residential areas.