Physical integrity and operational effectiveness are both essential to water system excellence and sustainability. Since a utility’s capital and operations are intrinsically linked, we combine both into a single “subject”: Infrastructure accounts for half of the Infrastructure & Operations grade, and Operations accounts for the other half. Water utilities’ infrastructure needs vary widely, depending on factors such as source water and customer demand.

The infrastructure grade focuses on transmission and distribution system integrity using data on water loss, replacement rate, and especially main breaks. The Operations grade includes energy consumption and several measurements of operating expenses.

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