The City Water Index
Reimagining urban water resilience
Supported by
Official commitment to the Global Water Action Agenda toward 2030 SDGs
Economist Impact joins organisations across the globe in making an official commitment to the Global Water Action Agenda, a key outcome of the UN 2023 Water Conference. By contributing robust, independent research and analysis on urban water systems globally, Economist Impact's City Water Index serves as a key enabler of action towards SDG 6.
Cities are under pressure to intensify their water optimisation targets and activities, driven by an escalating breadth of imperatives
Evolving weather patterns, declining groundwater, expanding populations and ageing infrastructure have created a perfect storm of water challenges. In response, many urban authorities are stepping up their water optimisation efforts to maintain supply in the face of ever-growing demand.
The City Water Index examines the water optimisation potential of a diverse selection of cities. Developed by Economist Impact and supported by DuPont Water Solutions, the index includes tools to help you assess the operational and regulatory performance of your city.
The 51 cities included in the index are:
View cities
The 51 cities included in the index are:
The City Water Index examines performance in three categories
Reliability
Does the city deliver an effective water supply that meets the needs of residents and businesses?
Accessibility
Do users have equitable access to safe and affordable water and sanitation services?
Sustainability
Is the water system efficient and sustainable, and to what degree is supply tailored for specific uses?
Reliability
Does the city deliver an effective water supply that meets the needs of residents and businesses?
Accessibility
Do users have equitable access to safe and affordable water and sanitation services?
Sustainability
Is the water system efficient and sustainable, and to what degree is supply tailored for specific uses?
City rankings and scores
The overall score for a city is the weighted average of the Reliability, Accessibility and Sustainability scores. A higher score indicates a more favourable environment for water optimisation, with a maximum score of 100.
Learn more about the indexHighlight a city
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Read the full report
Read the full City Water Index report for further insights about water optimisation. The report looks at how city decision-makers can improve their water systems through resourcing, investment and policy.
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Interactive tools
Self assessment tool
Benchmark your water optimisation policies, infrastructure and initiatives against data from our 51 index cities.
City water optimiser tool
Explore our city water optimisation data in more detail, and adjust factors to identify improvement opportunities.
Events
Event
A thirst for solutions: Achieving water optimisation in cities
June 30th 2021
Water scarcity is considered one of the greatest challenges of our time—and for good reason. The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2025 half the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas. The problem is particularly acute in cities, where population growth, environmental degradation and ageing infrastructure and processes have placed significant stress on water supplies. Compounded by the increasing prevalence of climate-related events, ensuring a reliable water supply has become an urgent policy concern for municipal leaders and city authorities.
Event detailsDownload the data
Take a deeper dive into our water optimisation research and findings, with full rankings and scores for all 51 cities in the index.
