Good Experiences and Many New Findings – Benchmarking in Water and Wastewater

Abstract

Benchmarking projects have been undertaken in the German water industry as comparative analyses for over twelve years. The German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) recommends its members participate in such projects and has long been supporting their implementation. The BDEW report, „Benchmarking Statistics Water/Wastewater 2012“ clearly shows that the companies benefit from these performance comparisons. More than two in three of the drinking water suppliers and wastewater disposal companies questioned in the scope of a BDEW survey had already conducted benchmarking projects. Almost all of those reported good or satisfactory experiences with them. 74.3 % of drinking water companies and 73.2 % of wastewater companies consider the cost-benefit relationship of company benchmarking to be acceptable. The figures show that the German water industry is implementing the modernisation strategy decided upon by the German government. The increasing participation rates demonstrate that the drinking water and wastewater industries are voluntarily meeting the expectations of the German Federal Environment Ministry.