This article aims to assess the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) spread-prevention actions on water consumption, based on a case study in Joinville, Southern Brazil. Residential water consumption data, obtained through telemetry in two periods (before and after a governmental action imposing quarantine and social isolation), were analyzed. Complementarily, the analyses were also applied to the commercial, industrial and public consumption categories. For the analysis, Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests were applied and Prais-Winsten regression models were adjusted. The results of the Wilcoxon test show that there are significant differences between the analyzed periods, indicating a water consumption drop in the commercial, industrial and public categories, and an increase in the residential category. The regression model results confirm the effect of the restrictive actions in reducing consumption in non-residential categories. The results also indicate an increase in water consumption, which was steeper in apartment buildings than in houses, whether isolated or grouped in condominiums. A weak association was found between the variation in water consumption and the spatial distribution of buildings. Understanding water consumption related aspects is important to gather essential information to ensure the urban water supply system is resilient in a pandemic situation.

本文旨在基于巴西南部若恩维利的案例研究，评估冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 传播预防行动对用水量的影响。对通过遥测获得的两个时期（政府实施检疫和社会隔离行动之前和之后）的住宅用水量数据进行了分析。作为补充，这些分析也适用于商业、工业和公共消费类别。为了进行分析，应用了 Wilcoxon 和 Kruskal-Wallis 非参数检验，并对 Prais-Winsten 回归模型进行了调整。Wilcoxon检验的结果表明，分析时期之间存在显着差异，表明商业、工业和公共类别的用水量下降，而住宅类别的用水量增加。回归模型结果证实了限制措施对减少非住宅类别消费的影响。结果还表明，公寓楼的用水量增加，无论是独立的还是集中在公寓中，公寓楼的用水量都比住宅更大。研究发现用水量的变化与建筑物的空间分布之间存在弱关联。了解与用水相关的方面对于收集重要信息非常重要，以确保城市供水系统在大流行情况下具有弹性。