Water utilities in developing countries are facing the challenges of substantial water losses in their water supply systems. In order to deliver water to their customers more efficiently and effectively, utilities must be able to measure and assess the performance of their water supply systems against set management objectives. However, water loss assessment is still not widely practised in developing countries. The task of measuring and evaluating performance is accomplished by performance assessment systems through well-defined performance indicators (PIs). Most PIs currently used are often not applicable in developing countries. This paper presents an eight-step participatory methodology for the selection of indicators and highlights challenges of integrating a PI culture in developing countries. In total, 25 PIs have been proposed as part of a standardized water balance methodology and so far 16 PIs have been tested successfully. The other nine PIs have not been tested, as the costs of generating and collecting reliable data outweigh the added benefits. In addition an appropriate water loss performance indicator computational tool has been developed to promote use of standardized water balance and performance measures by the utilities of developing countries.
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December 2010
This article was originally published in
Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua
Article Contents
Research Article|
December 01 2010
Using performance indicators as a water loss management tool in developing countries
H. Mutikanga;
1National Water and Sewerage Corporation, PO Box 7053, Kampala, Uganda
2UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands
3Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN, Delft, The Netherlands
E-mail: [email protected]
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S. Sharma;
S. Sharma
2UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands
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K. Vairavamoorthy;
K. Vairavamoorthy
2UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands
3Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN, Delft, The Netherlands
4University of Birmingham, School of Civil Engineering, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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Enrique Cabrera, Jr.
Enrique Cabrera, Jr.
5ITA-Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
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Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua (2010) 59 (8): 471–481.
Article history
Received:
June 17 2009
Accepted:
February 18 2010
Citation
H. Mutikanga, S. Sharma, K. Vairavamoorthy, Enrique Cabrera; Using performance indicators as a water loss management tool in developing countries. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua 1 December 2010; 59 (8): 471–481. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2010.066
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