This paper presents a comparative assessment of the different institutional public models for water supply provision in Brazil. In an encompassing way, the study compares services of almost all Brazilian municipalities, by a nonparametric analysis of variance. For this assessment, services were grouped according to the following classification: managed by the municipality; managed by a municipal autarchy; private companies; and regional models. The base year of the study was 2008, and secondary data from the National Survey of Basic Sanitation were used. A set of performance indicators, related to operational and management aspects of services, was created. The results indicate significant differences between the evaluated models.
water supply; provision; National Survey of Basic Sanitation - PNSB; indicators