Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer from widespread disparities in water supply due to depletion in groundwater and global-warming-induced changes in weather patterns. The offset of water head from the design considerations of water pumping systems has increased energy requirements leading to worsening of the situation with respect to availability of energy and water. Consequently, highly capitalized water supply schemes, which have been designed to meet the demand, are underutilized leading to operational inefficiencies. Robust empirical equations can help detect inefficiencies in water pumping systems, and this paper discusses the equations which were developed by analysing data obtained from various water supply utilities facing water scarcity. These equations provide cost-benefit analysis for decision making in water utilities and can bring about energy efficiency in municipal pumping operations. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.