Operational drivers of water reuse efficiency in Portuguese wastewater service providers

Abstract

Identifying the service providers that perform best in key operational indicators is important for increasing the sustainability of the wastewater treatment sector. Wastewater reuse is increasingly considered as a relevant aspect in this context. The current study first identifies the Portuguese service providers in the efficiency frontier regarding wastewater reuse and proceeds to identify its main operational drivers. Reused wastewater was then successfully estimated using the selected drivers. The main policy recommendations, resulting from this study, towards wastewater reuse upsurge include fostering the aggregation of smaller SP to benefit from economies of scale, and strive for adequate infrastructure maintenance practices.