Water demand by commercial business establishments is af-
fected by a number of different variables including size of store,
hours open per week, and nature of water using appliances. In
addition, demand is affected by the prices of products sold by
such establishments and the price of the water. An attempt was
made to explain the variation in monthly water use by different
types of establishments, given measures of these different vari-
ables. The price variable ranged from $0.30 to $3.00 per thou-
sand gallons. Several different types of businesses were selected
for study including department stores, grocery stores, motel-
hotel establishments and eating-drinking establishments. Usable
results were obtained for all four of these major business types.
 Primary data were collected via questionnaires from indi-
vidual businesses on all variables other than price, quantity of
water, and price of room in the case of the motel-hotel category.
Price and quantity data were collected directly from several
water companies in the Miami SMSA and the Florida Keys'
Aqueduct Authority in Key West. Questionnaires were sent to
841 businesses. A total of 103 data points were used in the analy-
sis. An additional 93 observations were also obtained from sec-
ondary sources for the hotel-motel group.
 The relationship between quantity of water purchased per
 month in department stores and the various independent vari-
 ables used in this model was generally as expected. Quantity
 purchases were found to increase with size of store and with size
 of restaurants within stores. Price responsiveness was found to
 be inelastic. The mean quantity of water purchased by depart-
 ment stores was 179,000 gallons per month.
 Similar types of relationships were found for the grocery
 store and supermarket group. The existence of a bakery had a
 significant impact on the quantity of water used in stores. Price
 elasticity was found to be inelastic for all prices less than $1.33
 per thousand gallons. Most grocery stores in the Miami SMSA
 purchase water within an inelastic range.
 Number of rooms and price of rooms were both shown to be
 important variables affecting water used by hotels and motels.
 Generally, the demand was found to be inelastic over all ranges
 in price data for this group.
 Water use by eating and drinking establishments was found
 to be positively related with the size of the dining area in the
 restaurant and the number of hours the restaurant is open. Price
 was not found to be a significant variable. The mean quantity
 purchased was 53,000 gallons per month.