UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

UPES report · 4. Drinking water and water-wise design

4Drinking water and water-wise campus design

UPES provides free drinking water to every student, staff member and visitor on both campuses, and its buildings and grounds are designed and run to use less water.

Impact

UPES provides free, safe, mineral-rich drinking water to everyone on campus, from a supply that wastes almost nothing.

2water treatment plants, one on each campus
UVtreatment for all drinking water
Freedrinking water for students, staff and visitors
  • Treated water reaches academic buildings, hostels and other facilities through a network of storage tanks, pumps and pipelines.
  • Switching from RO to UV treatment keeps essential minerals in drinking water while saving water.
  • Water-efficient fixtures and treated-water irrigation reduce demand for fresh water.

Free drinking water

Water treatment plants on the Bidholi and Kandoli campuses, with UV filtration, supply potable water through a network of storage tanks, pumps and pipelines to academic, residential, recreational and utility facilities. UPES provides this drinking water free of charge to all students, staff and visitors.

Water-conscious buildings

The UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy (2025)[4] requires water-efficient fixtures and technologies across campus facilities, rainwater harvesting and efficient water management systems (§5.2). New buildings and renovations follow the National Building Code of India and green building rating systems such as GRIHA and IGBC wherever feasible (§5.1.1).

Water-conscious landscaping

The campus grounds are landscaped with native planting, and gardens, lawns and horticulture on both campuses are watered with treated wastewater from the campus sewage treatment system, more than 250 kilolitres a day, rather than with fresh groundwater. The campus is also plastic-free (see the campus water and green facilities report[2]). The policy commits UPES to maintaining green landscapes and protecting biodiversity on campus (§5.4).