Plataforma digital de >i<benchmarking>/i< para controle de perdas em sistemas de abastecimento de água

Abstract

MARQUES, L.O.A. Digital benchmarking platform for loss control in water supply systems. Dissertation submitted to the School of Engineering of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, in order to obtain the title of Master of Science in Hydraulic Engineering and Sanitation. São Carlos, 2021.Brazil is a country that still lacks adequate water treatment and sanitation services for its population. The high levels of water losses, recently highlighted in the new Brazilian Law 14.026/2020 for the sector, make tariffs more expensive, which could make access to these services difficult. It can also damage the water resources, demanding from them much more than what is required for the population's consumption. Currently, water losses in Brazil are approximately 40%. This represents billions of reais being wasted every year due to the inefficiency of current water systems, which makes it urgent to adopt management measures that can minimize these rates. Benchmarking is a management tool adopted by many countries in their water supply systems. This practice allows that, through the comparison between processes and key performance indicators from water utilities, there is an improvement in the performance of these organizations, improving the services offered to the population. The practice is even regulated by the current legislation in some of these locations. Its effective application in the water industry in Brazil requires development of more accessible tools, especially those with low cost and operational ease. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the perception of the importance of the benchmarking process with water utilities and regulatory agencies, highlighting gains in transparency and credibility resulting from its use. Thus, this research aimed to develop a digital benchmarking platform to control losses in water supply systems. To this end, an executive project was planned, divided into three stages, with a pre-project and five modules of research and development activities. This project was made in a participatory way, with evaluations from potential users of its functional aspects such as ease and interactivity. It was possible to obtain a dynamic tool containing indicators of water losses and which makes it possible to compare the practices to combat losses adopted by water utilities in the hydrographic basins of the Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí rivers. The final version of the benchmarking platform was submitted for product registration and will later be made available free of charge to service providers in the region to be used to avoid water losses and on the University of São Paulo website, as a support for researchers.