KPI of the Day – Utilities: # Population supplied with water (PSW)
Definition
Measures the total number of people benefiting from water supply services at the end of the reporting period.
Purpose
To indicate the number of people that have access to a source of water.
Recommendations
Water is vital for the survival of human beings, for urbanization, for the economy and development of society in general. While some geographical areas can benefit from a natural abundance of water, many regions are significantly under the threat of scarcity or stress for this commodity.
According to a UNICEF report from 2010, 884 million people, out of whom 37% live in Sub-Saharan Africa, still use unimproved sources for drinking-water. There number of people that are not supplied with water is higher in Africa compared to the rest of the continents. Thus, monitoring # Population supplied with water (# PSW) is of vital importance for all countries around the globe.
Restricted availability of water supplies, as well as poor quality of water, has important repercussions on poverty, land degradation, pollution but above all human health and development. Furthermore, considering the fast climate change and strong population growth that are negatively impacting water availability, it is even more crucial to focus attention on the amount of population that benefits from a regular supply of water.
Another point worth mentioning is the uneven distribution of freshwater supply and above all, its accessibility depending on the status of the regional infrastructure. In general, countries of the Central and Sub-Saharan African continent are the ones that have the least accessibility to water supplies and availability of resources.
Considering the crucial importance of # PSW, some recommendations on optimizing the KPI include the following:
- Fostering the development of a reliable water infrastructure network especially in developing countries with inaccessible water supplies;
- Implementing and adopting water conservation techniques for a more efficient use of water supplies in regions with higher coincidence of water scarcity;
- Assessing and implementing programs for protecting water springs and regulating water consumption.
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Tags: KPI, Utilities performance
