Two Sides, One Flow: Rethinking Urban Stormwater Infrastructure Performance with Stakeholder Perceptions

Assessing stormwater infrastructure performance is essential for informed asset management. While many studies have designed frameworks for evaluating infrastructure performance as a whole, they often overlook the unique aspects of different systems, leading to concerns about the comprehensiveness of these frameworks. Additionally, the perspectives of both agencies (operating municipalities) and customers (the public) on stormwater performance are underexplored. This study introduces a detailed performance evaluation framework that integrates levels of service (LOS) with agency and customer viewpoints. A survey was conducted among Ontario, Canada-based agencies and customers to gauge their perceptions of the importance of various LOS dimensions. By using fuzzy composite programming, the framework evaluates stormwater performance based on survey responses and operational data from a large-scale municipality in Ontario, Canada. The findings revealed that agencies and customers have a significant alignment in their views on LOS, with minor differences in quantity, responsiveness, and environmental acceptability. Agencies valued safety, quality, and environmental acceptability the most, while customers prioritized quality, quantity, and cost. The study’s case analysis showed that customer perception of stormwater infrastructure performance is slightly lower than that of the agency. Sensitivity analysis further highlighted seven key performance indicators that asset managers should prioritize to maintain satisfactory infrastructure performance.