Water Supply Systems in the Palestinian Territories: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach to the Management of Water Resources

This study demonstrates that Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) can be a useful tool to assess the relative efficiencies of water supply systems and to establish benchmarks to measure progress in the management of water resources. Frontier efficiency models measured the efficiency of water use in the Palestinian Territories (West Bank and the Gaza Strip). At the municipality level, sufficient data were available (1999-2002) to estimate efficiency and stability scores. The Gaza strip efficiency scores were considerably lower than those of the West Bank. Water losses were the major source of inefficiency. Palestinian policy makers should focus on rebuilding the infrastructure of the water networks, beginning with the most inefficient municipalities to minimize water losses.