UPES report · 1. Research on water
UPES researchers measure pollution in rivers and lakes, design cheap ways to test and treat water, and turn wastewater into a resource.
UPES research turns sewage into clean water and energy, and gives communities cheap, reliable ways to test their water.
These figures cover UPES research publications on clean water and sanitation (source: Scopus).
Number of papers on each theme (a paper can appear under more than one).
| Theme | Papers |
|---|---|
| Wastewater and sewage treatment | 287 |
| Heavy metals, dyes and emerging contaminants | 214 |
| Water quality monitoring and sensors | 202 |
| Adsorbents and materials for removing pollutants | 183 |
| Groundwater, rivers and water resources | 141 |
| Irrigation and water for agriculture | 94 |
| Desalination and membranes | 54 |
| Sanitation and hygiene | 7 |
The full list of publications, with links, is in the annexure.
Prof Bhawna Yadav Lamba's DST-funded microalgae plant treats sewage from a municipal canal, reclaims the water and turns the algae and sludge into bio-oil, biogas and bio-fertiliser. Built with the NGO Vikalp Nai Dishayen, it has reached Technology Readiness Level 7.
Prof Ashish Mathur's team develops low-cost sensors that detect heavy metals and harmful microbes in drinking water, presented at IFAWET-2025, which UPES co-hosted.
With Technische Hochschule Bingen, UPES researchers compiled microplastic data from German rivers, groundwater and treatment plants and proposed harmonised measurement protocols (2025). A second review of 127 studies compared Himalayan lakes with the Alps and Andes and proposed monitoring and clean-up frameworks for high-altitude lakes (2025).
HILL is working with French institutions on water quality and availability under climate change, and building a simple solar thermal water purifier for villages in hilly terrain. A separate project studies water quality and microplastics in slum communities along Dehradun's urban rivers.
