Evaluating the Efficiency of Water Distribution Network Sectors Using the DEA-Weight Russell Directional Distance Model: The Case of the City of Valencia (Spain)

José Antonio Palomero-González, Vicent Almenar-Llongo and Ramón Fuentes-Pascual
Additional contact information
José Antonio Palomero-González: Grupo Global Omnium, Instituto Interuniversitario de Desarrollo Local, Universitat de València, 46022 València, Spain
Vicent Almenar-Llongo: Department of Economics, Catholic University of Valencia, 46003 València, Spain
Ramón Fuentes-Pascual: Departamento de Análisis Económico Aplicado, Universidad de Alicante, 03080 Alicante, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: In many cities, sectorization projects of the drinking water distribution network have been implemented. This study provides a methodology to evaluate the efficiency of the sectors of a water distribution network by applying a data envelopment analysis weighted Russell directional distance (DEA-WRDD) model. This non-radial DEA model gives the overall efficiency of each unit of analysis, as well as each input, output, and undesirable output considered in the evaluation. The variables used in the analysis provide a multidisciplinary view: economic factors (covering costs), water quality parameters, and technical aspects. The empirical analysis was performed for the sectors of the water distribution network of the city of Valencia (Spain) for the year 2016. In this particular case, the results showed that approximately half of the sectors were efficient. The efficiency values of each variable indicate that the main challenges (faced by the water distribution company) were the optimization of maintenance costs and the reduction of leaks, both of which have an impact on the quality of the distributed water. So, the purpose of this article is to highlight the usefulness of efficiency analysis to help the decision making of managers of sectorized water distribution networks so that they can optimize the management.

Keywords: water scarcity; water management; water efficiency; water distribution sectors; DEA–WRDDM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10546/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10546/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10546-:d:641291

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().