Knowledge of residential end uses of water is an essential tool for adequate urban water management. Results can be obtained through different methodologies which can vary from a simple survey to a direct measurement of water consumption. With no doubt, direct measurement is the most accurate technique since it only reflects how water consumption is really done and not the users' opinions about how they use water. Most of the studies in which water consumption has been measured had been carried out in American cities. Of particular note in this paper, water consumption profiles of European users are not the same as those in the States due to differences in users' habits and household and appliance characteristics. This is the first study in Spain in which residential water demand is described by direct measurement of water consumption. Includes 6 references, tables, figures.