A scorecard for measuring the water supply utility performance: the case of large Indian metropolises

This paper reviews the various international benchmarking efforts undertaken in the field of water supply and outlines a generic framework for the evaluation of performances of water supply utilities. The proposed scorecard identifies a few key indicators and uses certain clusters to group the indicators appropriately. The methodology involves assigning weights to indicators in conjunction with their scores on a devised scale, and evaluates cluster and performance scores by employing a spreadsheet. This methodology has been illustrated for the five largest water supply utilities in Indian metropolises, whose operations were found to be sub-optimal underscoring the need of reforms in order to ensure that the water supply services demonstrate sustainable operational performances.