Evaluation of management alternatives for urban water supply system using Multicriteria Decision Analysis

Abstract

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to study the urban water supply scheme for Offa, in Kwara State, Nigeria. The Offa water works is studied with the model so as to assist its future operation and the design of alternative system improvement works. AHP, a technique used in Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) had made important contribution to the practical decision making process by recognizing the decision makers (DMs) experience and in providing the possible best compromised solution in terms of multiple objectives and multiples DMs and stakeholders preferences. The study introduces three management options that are formulated on the prevailing nation’s water supply sector and foreign countries models. The three options are respectively: Public Ownership and Operation; Public Ownership and Private Operation; and Private Ownership and Operation. The stakeholders have chosen option 1 (Public Ownership and Operation) as most contributing to sustainable operation of an urban water supply service delivery under scrutiny of environmental, economical, technical, institutional, and socio-cultural criteria. The choice of option 1 reaffirms the stakeholder opinion in the survey that they did not want government to abandon their responsibility in the water sector. The ranking of the choice is based on the compromise solutions according to the performance of the system under various alternatives that are considered and the preference of the decision makers (DMs) or stakeholders on Performance Indicators or Measures (PIs or PMs). Subsequently, the AHP framework is more valuable and effective in facilitating an explorative insight into the problem.