The use of water loss index as an indicator for benchmarking: the case of Brazilian water supply state companies

ABSTRACT

Using as reference water loss indexes contained in the database of National Information System on Water and Sanitation (SNIS), based on results for the year 2010, this study defines criteria for the establishment of operational performance evaluation parameters - benchmarking, and as a case study uses data concerning 22 regional water supply companies from different States in Brazil. In addition, combining the water suppliers in two groups, one containing those that responded to the proposed benchmarking, and the other containing those that did not respond to it, the study compares the operating performance of both groups, including evaluation from different population strata, and highlights the results achieved by the companies that responded to the benchmarking between 2002 and 2009. A few operational indicators, obtained from the SNIS database, were used and according to the established criteria the following benchmarking values were obtained: index IN010 - 65.48%, IN013 - 24.10%, IN049 - 33% - and IN051- 254.20 L.lig^-1.day^-1. Among the 22 analyzes companies, four of them responded to the proposed benchmarking. The evaluation of the companies' performance, according to the population strata, indicates better results when the municipalities served had up to 20,000 inhabitants. In general, the water supply companies that met the benchmarking set for the year 2010 showed similar operating results during the period 2002-2009.

Keywords:
SNIS; water loss performance indicators; water supply state companies; benchmarking.