This paper employs data envelopment analysis (DEA) of US Environmental Protection Agency Community Water
System Survey data (EPA, 2002) to compare the relative efficiencies of facility ownership type and
nature of water source for potable water utilities. Three ownership types (private for-profit, private
not-for-profit, and public) and two types of supply sources (ground and surface water sources) are
compared. Statistically significant results indicating the efficiency advantage of certain utility types
depending on measurement variable selection were found, and clear trends towards certain utility
types were identified, notwithstanding the variable selections used for measurement. The findings
indicate that public utilities are most efficient overall, followed by private not-for-profit utilities,
with private for profit utilities being least efficient. Except for a few cases of very large supply
demands, utilities employing groundwater sources were generally more efficient than those using
surface water sources.
A brief investigation into the marginal return on information obtained from using additional
measurement variables to measure utility performance is also presented. It is demonstrated that
additional ranking information can be obtained by using more discrete measurement variables, but
that there are diminishing marginal returns. This efficiency evaluation of public water utilities
should prove useful as a tool for guiding ownership policy and water source development. Includes 19 references, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 340 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 8 |
| Published : | 03/01/2006 |
