Development of a Water Infrastructure Performance Index for the USA

摘要

This paper presents a new water infrastructure performance index (WIPI) for the United States for the period 1990 to 2016. The ultimate goal is to provide a useful tool for the development of water infrastructure investment strategies and policies that support and encourage economic growth/competitiveness based on performance. The proposed WIPI utilizes publicly available data for the supply, quality of service, and utilization of the nation's water infrastructure. A range of attributes were considered, including the availability of drinking water, sewer overflows, and boil orders for drinking water, and appropriate weights assigned based on stakeholder surveys. The outcomes are intended to capture and track the overall performance of U.S. water infrastructure systems over time, as well as demonstrate the relative contributions/connections within each criterion. The results for the study period revealed far from ideal conditions, albeit accompanied by a gradual improvement, but more attention is required if the U.S. water infrastructure is to deliver a solid performance that supports both economic competitiveness and public well-being.