UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

UPES report · 5. Water reuse

5Water reuse

UPES has a written policy to recycle its wastewater, and it measures how much treated water it puts back to use every day.

Impact

Treated wastewater, not fresh water, keeps the campus green: hundreds of kilolitres a day are reused instead of discharged.

250+ KLof treated water reused every day for horticulture
550 KLPDwater recycling capacity
89%water savings through recharge and reuse
  • Reuse is written into university policy, not left to chance.
  • Flow meters on every rainwater harvesting pit record how much water is returned to the ground.
  • Recycled water replaces groundwater for landscaping, horticulture and other non-drinking uses.

Water reuse policy

The UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy (2025)[2] commits the university to implement wastewater recycling and responsible discharge systems (§5.2) and to run rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling initiatives (§5.3.2). An Energy, Environment & Sustainability Committee monitors resource use and reports on it.

Measuring water reuse

  • Daily reuse. More than 250 kilolitres of treated water a day are reused in the horticulture section and for other non-drinking uses.
  • Recycling capacity. UPES reports a water recycling capacity of 550 kilolitres per day.
  • Metered recharge. All rainwater harvesting pits have flow meters to record the water fed back into the ground; together, recharge and reuse save 89% of water.