Impacts of Targeted Subsidy Act on Urban Water Consumption in City of Mashhad

An objective of the Targeted Subsidy Act in Iran, which came into effect in 2010 in Iran, is to manage water demand. Despite the importance of this Act, evaluation of its effects especially on urban water networks has been rarely reported. The present study aims to investigate the impacts of the first phase of its implementation on the water consumption for different uses in the city of Mashhad. For this purpose, the data records of water consumption over a period of 10 years were analyzed and expert views were collected. Results indicated that although the Act in its early years of implementation led to reduced consumption and a shift was observed in water consumption for different uses, the increasing trend of water consumption was later resumed. It was also found that as reductions in water consumption for different urban uses is directly related to the users’ interests. Water consumption reduction fits the gamma probability density function. Based on the data obtained, water production and supply did not decline during the study period despite the reduction observed by authorized users. It may, therefore, be inferred that illegal connections increased during the study period. Thus, the Act did not seemingly have the impacts, at least as much as expected, on reducing urban water consumption.