Uso de indicadores de perdas para benchmarking em sistemas de abastecimento de água de municípios do Paraná

Abstract

The growing demand for potable water makes the efficient management of water resources one of the main concerns around the world. Water losses in supply systems mean not only financial losses, but also a waste of natural resources, being one of the biggest challenges for the sanitation sector in Brazil. This research aimed to evaluate the performance of 345 municipalities served by Companhia de Saneamento do Paraná in terms of water loss, performing benchmarking based on performance indicators related to loss, obtained from the National Sanitation Information System (SNIS). Benchmarking was performed in two scenarios, the first called general, considering all the municipalities assessed in the research, and the second called stratified, considering the separation of municipalities into population strata. The study showed that, although the company presents a good performance regarding water losses compared to the national context, in many municipalities the percentages of losses are high, which may denote opportunities for improvements and promotion of actions to reduce loss rates. As a result of the general benchmarking, 72 municipalities were approved, practically all of them being small municipalities, while in the stratified benchmarking, 71 were approved, including some large municipalities. Added to this, it should be noted that each supply system has particular characteristics and, therefore, it suits specific and localized analyzes, pertinent to local realities. On-the spot evaluations can be made in order to correct the systems that presented the worst results and, also, to compile good practices carried out in the municipalities with the best results.