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Efficiency evaluation for regional urban water use and wastewater decontamination systems in China: A DEA approach

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  • Bian, Yiwen
  • Yan, Shuai
  • Xu, Hao

Abstract

Rapid economic growth and urbanization in China have resulted in great water consumption in recent years. China has been facing increasingly severe water shortage crisis, especially in urban areas. This paper focuses on performance analysis for regional urban water use and wastewater decontamination systems in China. To this end, a DEA-based approach is developed. In the proposed approach, the efficiency of the system is decomposed into water use efficiency and wastewater decontamination efficiency. In the wastewater decontamination sub-system, the purified wastewater (reusable water) is treated as a desirable output; while in the water use sub-system, it is incorporated as a fixed input, which cannot be decreased in the process of efficiency optimization. The efficiency of the system is defined as the average of the two sub-systems’ efficiencies. The proposed approach can find inefficiencies caused by the internal factors between sub-systems, which cannot be identified using the traditional DEA approaches. We finally apply the proposed approach to analyze the efficiencies of regional urban water use and wastewater decontamination systems in China. Based on the application results, some findings and implications for efficiency improvement of urban water management in China are achieved.

Suggested Citation

  • Bian, Yiwen & Yan, Shuai & Xu, Hao, 2014. "Efficiency evaluation for regional urban water use and wastewater decontamination systems in China: A DEA approach," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 15-23.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:83:y:2014:i:c:p:15-23
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.11.010
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    5. Chu, Junying & Wang, Jianhua & Wang, Can, 2015. "A structure–efficiency based performance evaluation of the urban water cycle in northern China and its policy implications," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA), pages 1-11.
    6. Xu, Tong & Zhu, Chunyan & Shi, Longyu & Gao, Lijie & Zhang, Miao, 2017. "Evaluating energy efficiency of public institutions in China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 17-24.
    7. Yu, Anyu & Zhang, Puwei & Rudkin, Simon, 2022. "Simultaneous action or protection after production? Decision making based on a chance-constrained approach by measuring environmental performance considering PM2.5," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Sheng, Jichuan & Qiu, Wenge, 2022. "Water-use technical efficiency and income: Evidence from China's South-North Water Transfer Project," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).

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