BOOK
AquaRating
Matthias Krause | Enrique Cabrera Jr | Francisco Cubillo | Carlos Diaz | Jorge Ducci
(2015)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in cooperation with the International Water Association (IWA), has developed a rating system that assesses the performance of water and sanitation service providers in a comprehensive way. AquaRating: An international standard for assessing water and wastewater services aims to provide an industry standard for utilities.Â
The innovative rating system seeks the improvement of the service delivered by means of a rigorous and systematic assessment. AquaRating comprises more than 100 assessment elements organized in eight rating areas: Service Quality, Efficiency in the Planning and Execution of Investments, Operating Efficiency, Business Management Efficiency, Financial Sustainability, Access to Service, Corporate Governance, Environmental Sustainability. Each of the assessment elements and consecutively rating areas is assigned a rating (from 0 to 100), which in turn are aggregated into a single rating for the utility. Assessment elements consist of qualitative good practices and quantitative indicators. The total compliance with practices and achievement of the most demanding indicators levels means delivery of an excellent service and, therefore, awards a maximum rating of 100 points.Â
AquaRating takes into account the quality of the information supporting the ratings results by correcting the rating for the reliability level of such information. The rating results are certifiable thanks to an independent audit of the supporting information. The expected benefits of the system are manifold:Â
• UtilitiesÂ
- Identify areas of improvement, receive guidance and monitor progress over time.Â
- Obtain an external and credible performance rating, which contributes to foster reputation, accountability and acceptance by key stakeholders, gain access to new markets and finance, and attract qualified staff.Â
- Get access to a knowledge and assessment framework that fosters continuous learning.Â
• Governments, regulators and development agenciesÂ
- Use the system to stimulate utilities to maintain or improve their performance and to target technical assistance and finance according to the specific opportunities for improvement identified.Â
• ConsumersÂ
- Obtain better services in terms of access, quality, efficiency, sustainability and transparency.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Contents | iv | ||
| Acknowledgements | 1 | ||
| About the authors | 3 | ||
| Introduction | 7 | ||
| WHAT IS AQUARATING | 7 | ||
| THE BENEFITS OF AQUARATING | 8 | ||
| THE AQUARATING PROCESS | 9 | ||
| Stage 1: Performance assessment | 9 | ||
| Stage 2: Performance certification | 9 | ||
| Stage 3: Performance improvement | 9 | ||
| THE AQUARATING STANDARD | 10 | ||
| AQUARATING STANDARD STRUCTURE | 12 | ||
| PRACTICAL ASPECTS | 16 | ||
| SQ Service Quality | 17 | ||
| SQ1 Drinking water quality | 19 | ||
| SQ1.1 Assurance of structural capacity for treatment and supply | 20 | ||
| SQ1.2 Assurance of appropriate supplied water quality | 22 | ||
| SQ1.3 Supervision and control of supplied water quality | 23 | ||
| SQ1.4 Structural operational capacity for drinking \"water treatment | 24 | ||
| SQ1.5 Compliance with drinking water standards | 26 | ||
| SQ1.6 Supplied water quality control frequency | 28 | ||
| SQ2 Distribution of drinking water for use and consumption | 30 | ||
| SQ2.1 Assurance of structural capacity for supply and distribution | 32 | ||
| SQ2.2 Assurance of supply continuity during operation | 33 | ||
| SQ2.3 Supervision and control of supply continuity | 34 | ||
| SQ2.4 Supply continuity | 35 | ||
| SQ2.5 Time taken to connect new users to the drinking water service | 37 | ||
| SQ3 Wastewater collection | 39 | ||
| SQ3.1 Assurance of structural capacity for wastewater collection | 41 | ||
| SQ3.2 Assurance of wastewater collection from operation | 42 | ||
| SQ3.3 Supervision and control of the wastewater collection service | 44 | ||
| SQ3.4 Time taken to resolve \"incidents\" in the wastewater collection network | 45 | ||
| SQ3.5 Time taken to connect to the wastewater service | 47 | ||
| SQ3.6 Stormweather \"incidents | 49 | ||
| SQ4 User service | 51 | ||
| SQ4.1 \"Complaint\" management and user satisfaction monitoring | 52 | ||
| SQ4.2 User service quality | 53 | ||
| SQ4.3 Commitment to user service and \"contingency\" information | 55 | ||
| SQ4.4 Perception of general user satisfaction | 56 | ||
| SQ4.5 User perceptions of problem resolution quality | 58 | ||
| SQ4.6 Number of \"customer service complaints\" per 100 users and year | 60 | ||
| SQ4.7 Customer call service waiting time | 62 | ||
| SQ4.8 Customer service center waiting time | 64 | ||
| SQ4.9 Time taken to resolve problems | 66 | ||
| PE Investment Planning and Implementation Efficiency | 69 | ||
| PE1 Investment plan content and efficiency | 71 | ||
| PE1.1 Investment plan contents | 72 | ||
| PE1.2 Diagnosis methodology | 74 | ||
| PE1.3 Methodology for identifying and analyzing alternatives and defining solutions | 76 | ||
| PE1.4 Methodology for analyzing the plan's financial aspects | 78 | ||
| PE2 Investment plan implementation efficiency | 79 | ||
| PE2.1 Systems for monitoring implementation of investment plan projects | 80 | ||
| PE2.2 Compliance with the investment plan | 82 | ||
| PE2.3 Degree of cost variation in \"completed works | 84 | ||
| PE2.4 Degree of deviation from deadlines established for implementation of \"works | 85 | ||
| PE3 Existing physical asset management efficiency | 86 | ||
| PE3.1 Physical asset management | 87 | ||
| PE3.2 Annual investment in replacement of fixed physical assets | 88 | ||
| PE4 Emergency planning | 90 | ||
| PE4.1 \"Emergency\" plan | 91 | ||
| PE5 Research and development | 92 | ||
| PE5.1 Research and development | 93 | ||
| PE5.2 Investment in research and development | 94 | ||
| OE Operating Efficiency | 97 | ||
| OE1 Water resource management efficiency | 98 | ||
| OE1.1 Control of water use and destinations | 99 | ||
| OE1.2 Control of water at points of use and consumption | 101 | ||
| OE1.3 Management of real losses | 103 | ||
| OE1.4 Real losses in the water supply, transportation and distribution infrastructure | 105 | ||
| OE1.5 Management of water used in operation | 108 | ||
| OE1.6 Water used in operation | 109 | ||
| OE1.7 Management of \"reclaimed water | 111 | ||
| OE1.8 \"Reused water | 112 | ||
| OE2 Energy usage efficiency | 115 | ||
| OE2.1 Energy usage efficiency | 116 | ||
| OE2.2 Energy use in reducing pollutant load | 117 | ||
| OE3 Infrastructure management efficiency | 119 | ||
| OE3.1 Efficiency in management of water intake, treatment and distribution infrastructure | 120 | ||
| OE3.2 Number of ruptures in transportation and distribution pipes | 122 | ||
| OE3.3 Number of ruptures in service connections (connections up to private supply systems) | 124 | ||
| OE3.4 Expenditure on \"corrective maintenance\" of fixed physical assets linked to the water intake, treatment and distribution \"system | 126 | ||
| OE3.5 Expenditure on \"preventive maintenance\" of fixed physical assets linked to the water intake, treatment and distribution \"system | 128 | ||
| OE3.6 Efficiency in management of wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure | 130 | ||
| OE3.7 Fortuitous \"incidents\" affecting the wastewater collection network during dry weather | 132 | ||
| OE3.8 Expenditure on \"corrective maintenance\" of fixed physical assets linked to the wastewater collection and treatment \"system\". | 134 | ||
| OE3.9 Expenditure on \"preventive maintenance\" of fixed physical assets linked to the wastewater collection and treatment \"system | 136 | ||
| OE4 Operational and maintenance cost efficiency | 138 | ||
| OE4.1 Operational and maintenance cost efficiency | 139 | ||
| ME Business Management Efficiency | 141 | ||
| ME1 Strategic planning | 143 | ||
| ME1.1 Strategic plan contents | 144 | ||
| ME1.2 Strategic plan formulation and implementation | 146 | ||
| ME2 Management control | 148 | ||
| ME2.1 \"Management control system | 149 | ||
| ME3 Organizational structure | 151 | ||
| ME3.1 Organizational structure | 152 | ||
| ME4 Human resource management | 154 | ||
| ME4.1 Human resource management | 155 | ||
| ME4.2 Staff recruited competitively | 157 | ||
| ME4.3 Staff receiving training | 159 | ||
| ME4.4 Staff who comply with \"key position\" \"job descriptions | 161 | ||
| ME5 Procurement management | 163 | ||
| ME5.1 Procurement | 164 | ||
| ME5.2 Purchases made by \"public tender | 166 | ||
| ME5.3 \"Successful tenders | 168 | ||
| ME5.4 Tenders held within the regulated \"minimum timeframe | 170 | ||
| ME6 Staff and support resource efficiency | 172 | ||
| ME6.1 Staff productivity | 173 | ||
| ME6.2 Expenditure on management and sales functions | 175 | ||
| FS Financial Sustainability | 177 | ||
| FS1 Overall financial sustainability | 178 | ||
| FS1.1 Financial sustainability | 179 | ||
| FS1.2 Expense coverage | 181 | ||
| FS1.3 \"Return on equity | 182 | ||
| FS2 Financial management | 184 | ||
| FS2.1 Financing, risk hedging and internal control | 185 | ||
| FS2.2 Current ratio | 187 | ||
| FS2.3 Debt-to-equity ratio | 189 | ||
| FS2.4 Committed flows | 191 | ||
| FS2.5 Currency risk | 193 | ||
| FS2.6 Rate risk | 195 | ||
| FS3 Customer management | 197 | ||
| FS3.1 Billing and collection | 198 | ||
| FS3.2 Billing effectiveness | 200 | ||
| FS3.3 Billing error rate | 202 | ||
| FS3.4 Unbilled water | 204 | ||
| FS3.5 Collection rate | 207 | ||
| FS3.6 Average collection time | 209 | ||
| FS3.7 Arrearage | 211 | ||
| AS Access to Service | 213 | ||
| AS1.1 Guaranteed \"access\" to service | 215 | ||
| AS1.2 Household \"access\" to drinking water | 217 | ||
| AS1.3 Connection to wastewater collection \"systems | 219 | ||
| AS1.4 Household ability to pay for services received | 222 | ||
| CG Corporate Governance | 225 | ||
| CG1 Utility autonomy and responsibilities | 226 | ||
| CG1.1 Utility autonomy and responsibilities | 227 | ||
| CG2 Decision-making processes and accountability | 228 | ||
| CG2.1 Corporate governance | 229 | ||
| CG2.2 Selection of \"board\" members and chief executive officer | 231 | ||
| CG2.3 \"Board of directors'\" powers and responsibilities | 232 | ||
| CG3 Transparency and control | 233 | ||
| CG3.1 Disclosure of information about service delivery | 234 | ||
| CG3.2 Disclosure of institutional and financial information | 235 | ||
| CG3.3 Auditing and control processes | 236 | ||
| ES Environmental Sustainability | 237 | ||
| ES1 Wastewater treatment and management | 238 | ||
| ES1.1 Assurance of operation and control of wastewater treatment services | 239 | ||
| ES1.2 Availability of operational wastewater treatment infrastructure | 241 | ||
| ES1.3 Degree of compliance with discharge regulations | 243 | ||
| ES2 Environmental management | 245 | ||
| ES2.1 Environmental management framework | 246 | ||
| ES2.2 Environmental implications in planning | 247 | ||
| ES2.3 Environmental operation and promotion | 248 | ||
| ES2.4 Water withdrawal in relation to the renewable resource | 249 | ||
| ES2.5 Energy consumption balance | 252 | ||
| ES2.6 Greenhouse gas emissions linked to drinking water and/or wastewater management | 254 | ||
| ES2.7 Environmental management of sludge produced by treatment processes | 256 | ||
| ES2.8 Water resource use | 258 | ||
| ES2.9 Compliance with environmental regulations | 260 | ||
| Appendix A - Reliability Tables | 263 | ||
| Appendix B - Glossary Terms | 333 | ||
| Appendix C - AquaRating Weights | 347 | ||
| Assessment areas weights: | 347 | ||
| SQ Service Quality | 348 | ||
| SQ1 Drinking water quality | 349 | ||
| SQ2 Distribution of drinking water for use and consumption | 350 | ||
| SQ3 Wastewater collection | 351 | ||
| SQ4 User service | 352 | ||
| PE Investment Planning and Implementation Efficiency | 353 | ||
| PE1 Investment plan content and efficiency | 354 | ||
| PE2 Investment plan implementation efficiency | 356 | ||
| PE3 Existing physical asset management efficiency | 357 | ||
| PE4 Emergency planning | 358 | ||
| PE5 Research and development | 359 | ||
| OE Operating Efficiency | 360 | ||
| OE1 Water resource management efficiency | 361 | ||
| OE2 Energy usage efficiency | 362 | ||
| OE3 Infrastructure management efficiency | 363 | ||
| OE4 Operational and maintenance cost efficiency | 365 | ||
| ME Business Management Efficiency | 366 | ||
| ME1 Strategic planning | 367 | ||
| ME2 Management control | 368 | ||
| ME3 Organizational structure | 369 | ||
| ME4 Human resource management | 370 | ||
| ME5 Procurement management | 371 | ||
| ME6 Staff and support resource efficiency | 372 | ||
| FS Financial Sustainability | 373 | ||
| FS1 Overall financial sustainability | 374 | ||
| FS2 Financial management | 375 | ||
| FS3 Customer management | 376 | ||
| AS Access to Service | 377 | ||
| AS1 Access to service | 378 | ||
| CG Corporate Governance | 379 | ||
| CG1 Utility autonomy and responsibilities | 380 | ||
| CG2 Decision-making processes and accountability | 381 | ||
| CG3 Transparency and control | 382 | ||
| ES Environmental Sustainability | 383 | ||
| ES1 Wastewater treatment and management | 384 | ||
| ES2 Environmental management | 385 |