Bridging the Sustainability Gap in Urban Water Utilities Through Performance Monitoring: A Case Study of Selected Urban Water Utilities in Nigeria

Water utilities are vital for urban health and economic growth, but face sustainability challenges, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In Nigeria, despite long-term investment, urban water utilities struggle with operational inefficiencies, frequent service interruptions, high non-revenue water, and low customer satisfaction. This study examined how performance monitoring can improve the operational sustainability of State Water Utilities in Nigeria. The objectives were to assess institutional performance monitoring practices and to evaluate the use of key performance indicators in tracking operations. A mixed-methods, cross-sectional case study was conducted in six urban utilities across six states. The data was collected in September 2022 through document re-views, structured questionnaires, and in-depth interviews. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze quantitative data; NVivo facilitated qualitative thematic analysis. Findings show all utilities have functional M&E departments responsible for performance monitoring activities, but M&E plan implementation varies (50%), with notable capacity gaps, inconsistent data management (only one utility has a Data Management Plan), and 7–22 indicators per utility. Baseline and target-setting are weak (pre-sent in 50% of utilities), and dissemination beyond internal reporting is limited. Recommendations include institutional reforms, capacity development, allocating 10% of budgets to performance monitoring, and embedding adaptive learning to enhance sustainability, effectiveness, and public trust.