The water consumption data of individual consumers must be analyzed and forecast to establish an effective water demand management plan. A k-mean cluster model that can monitor water use characteristics based on hourly water consumption data measured using automated meter reading devices and demographic factors is developed in this study. In addition, the quantification model that can estimate the daily water consumption is developed. K-mean cluster analysis based on the four clusters shows that the average silhouette coefficient is 0.63, also the silhouette coefficients of each cluster exceed 0.60, thereby verifying the high reliability of the cluster analysis. Furthermore, the clusters are clearly classified based on water usage and water usage patterns. The correlation coefficients of four quantification models for estimating water consumption exceed 0.74, confirming that the models can accurately simulate the investigated demographic data. The statistical significance of the models is considered reasonable, hence, they are applicable to the actual field. Because the use of automated smart water meters has become increasingly popular in recent year, water consumption has been metered remotely in many areas. The proposed methodology and the results obtained in this study are expected to facilitate improvements in the usability of smart water meters in the future.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of awareness and knowledge of the efficacy of carbonated water on consumption patterns and satisfaction for college students, who are the principal consumers of carbonated water. A survey was conducted with 502 college students in the Metropolitan area from May 13 to 18, 2015 and 455 questionnaires were analyzed. As for the differences in awareness and knowledge of the efficacy of carbonated water according to gender, females (14.60 and 0.76) had better awareness and knowledge than males (13.40 and 0.58) (p=0.000 and p=0.036). The more positive the awareness of carbonated water, the greater the knowledge (p=0.000); the greater the knowledge of carbonated water, the higher level of consumption satisfaction (p=0.006). The odds ratio of awareness for carbonated water was 11.98; that is, positive awareness led to higher levels of satisfaction than negative awareness (p=0.003). Since awareness of the efficacy of carbonated water was found to affect carbonated water drinking and satisfaction, it is necessary to provide correct information about the efficacy of carbonated water.