Analysis of the efficiency of water supply services in municipalities in the state of Sergipe

Abstract

For the improvement of potable water supply, the federal government aims to increase, by 2033, through the legal framework of basic sanitation, the provision of efficient services to the Brazilian population. The state of Sergipe, in pursuit of universal sanitation, aims to adapt models for the expansion of sector services. In light of the above, this study aims to analyze the efficiency of water supply services in the 75 municipalities of Sergipe from 2016 to 2021. To achieve this, public data from the National Sanitation Information System (SNIS) and data from the 2022 demographic census conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) were used. The non-parametric method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was employed to measure efficiency, considering water service operating expenses as inputs, and variables such as total population served with water supply and the number of active water connections as outputs. The results indicated inefficient performance for over 50% of Sergipe municipalities in providing water supply services. However, the new rules established by the regulatory framework of sanitation contributed to the participation of Sergipe municipalities in disclosing their data to SNIS, providing transparency regarding services provided to the population.

Keywords: service performance, Sergipe municipalities, water overview.