• A digital platform with the purpose of promoting a transformation in the improvement of the management of companies in the water sector worldwide: AquaRating Community of Practice
• AquaRating, a systematized method of comprehensive evaluation of the performance of water and wastewater companies used throughout the world
• Latin America, pioneering region in the application of the AquaRating method
• In Quito, Ecuador, Latin American water utilities receive the AquaRating certification

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Quito, Ecuador, 11-12 February 2019. The International Water Association (IWA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have launched jointly the digital AquaRating Community of Practice for water professionals at a water utilities workshop in Quito, Ecuador. This digital platform aims to promoting improvement of water and sanitation services through exchange of knowledge, experiences and good practices among its members.

The AquaRating Community of Practice is especially designed for professionals who work to improve the performance of water utilities through the AquaRating method – a pioneering system of comprehensive performance evaluation of water and sanitation service providers. This method allows them to identify improvement opportunities to offer quality services, ensure coverage, and operate more efficiently.

Through a strategic alliance, IWA and IDB developed the AquaRating method. Today, more than 60 water and sanitation companies across the world use AquaRating to improve their performance and efficiency in water resource management. Currently, AquaRating is also a reference model for regulators, government institutions, cooperation agents for development, and funders, among others.

“The AquaRating Community of Practice aims to capture the experience of water companies that have applied AquaRating so that other companies can learn from these applications and achieve greater benefits by using the tools that support them on their journey to meet the Sustainable Development Goals”, states Kala Vairavamoorthy, IWA Executive Director.

Hosted on the digital environment of IWA Connect, the online platform of the International Water Association, the AquaRating Community of Practice is open to water professionals committed to improving the efficiency of their companies, who are passionate about generating collective solutions to global water challenges.

“The community of practice will be a very useful tool for water and sanitation companies to share and learn from their common experiences, create specific themes and generate a dynamic of open knowledge in the water and sanitation sector,” says Sergio I. Campos G., head of the IDB’s water and sanitation division.

The official presentation of the community of practice takes place during the International Workshop on Management of Change in Companies of the Water and Sanitation Sector, in Quito, Ecuador, on 11 and 12 February. This event counts with the participation of more than a hundred water professionals from Latin American service providers, familiar with the characterisation of the performance offered by AquaRating.

During the workshop, the AquaRating Certification is awarded to the following Latin American utilities: ETAPA, Ecuador, Agua Kpital Cúcuta, Colombia, including the recertification to EPMAPS, Quito, Ecuador.

This international recognition, given by the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Water Association, certifies that these service providers were subjected to a comprehensive evaluation, verified by an independent authorized audit process.

During the ceremony, special mention is made to the three more Latin American water companies which have gained the AquaRating Certification – SADM, Monterrey, Mexico, EPSAS, La Paz, Bolivia, and ANDA, El Salvador.

Photo credit: EPMAPS, Agua de Quito

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AquaRating is a unique system for assessing water and sanitation service providers’ performance conceived in 2008 by the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Water Association to help improve the efficiency and transparency of water and sanitation services. The AquaRating method is based on an international standard that establishes a reference base for companies to monitor their performance and improve their management. www.aquarating.org

The International Water Association (IWA) is a network and an international global knowledge center open to all water professionals and anyone committed to the future of water. With its legacy of over seventy years, it connects water professionals around the world to find solutions to global water challenges as part of a broader sustainability agenda. As a non-profit organization and with partners in more than 130 countries, the IWA connects scientists with professionals and communities so that pioneering research offers sustainable solutions. In addition, it promotes and supports technological innovation and promotes best practices through international frameworks and standards. www.iwa-network.org

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has the mission of improving lives. Founded in 1959, the IDB is one of the main sources of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research projects and offers policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private clients throughout the region. https://www.iadb.org

To learn more about the Community of Practice of AquaRating, please visit: https://iwa-connect.org/#/group/aquarating/about

For more information or interviews, please contact:

Marta Jiménez, Comunicación IWA, +31 631 93 40 81, marta.jimenez@iwahq.org

Julio Ernesto Marenco, IDB Communications, julioma@iadb.org