1. This Policy shall be called the “Policy for Water Conservation” of Swami Rama Himalayan University (SRHU).
2. This Policy shall be deemed to have come into force from the date of approval of the Board of Management of the University.

Water is the foundation of life, public health, and ecological stability. Operating in the sub-Himalayan foothills and the Upper Ganga River Basin, Swami Rama Himalayan University recognizes its institutional responsibility to safeguard, harvest, treat, recycle, and replenish water resources.

The University’s water governance is anchored in two complementary approaches:

1. The Water Neutrality Approach: Ensuring that total freshwater drawn for academic, clinical, and campus residential needs is counterbalanced and returned to nature through integrated rainwater harvesting, engineered deep aquifer recharge structures, and regional catchment and springshed rejuvenation.
2. The Water Circularity Approach: Eliminating once-through consumption by enforcing a closed-loop cycle (Reduce → Recover → Treat → Reuse → Recharge), maintaining a strict Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) model, deploying hybrid biological and nature-based treatment pathways, and cascading reclaimed wastewater, treatment reject streams, and mechanical condensation into secondary operations.
3. Through this Policy, the University pledges to:
   1. Cultivate a culture of water mindfulness and conservation across all campus constituent units.
   2. Optimize demand-side water efficiency across educational facilities, residential areas, and healthcare operations.
   3. Maintain full Zero Liquid Discharge across all premises, ensuring no untreated or contaminated liquid effluent enters local soil or natural drainage channels.
   4. Mandate water-conscious green building codes aligned with Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) guidelines, dual distribution networks for clean drinking water recycled flush-and-irrigation separately, and native vegetation in campus development.
   5. Foster community water security, springshed revival, and stakeholder capacity building across Uttarakhand, the Himalayan states/UTs, Pan-India, and the wider Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries.
   6. Advance applied interdisciplinary research, low-cost technologies, and pedagogical integration aligned with national and international clean water targets.

1. This policy applies universally to all stakeholders of SRHU, including students, faculty, administrative personnel, healthcare providers, patients, residential staff and families, contractors, and visitors.
2. The provisions of this policy govern all university land, premises, and facilities:
   1. Academic blocks, classrooms, laboratories, and administrative offices across all constituent colleges and schools.
   2. Tertiary healthcare facilities, including Himalayan Hospital, specialty medical centres, clinical laboratories, surgical theatres, and inpatient/outpatient areas.
   3. Campus residential areas, including student hostels, faculty and staff residential quarters, employee family housing, guest facilities, cafeterias, and dining halls.
   4. Central utility and maintenance services, including commercial laundry plants, sterilization units, kitchens, workshops, and vehicle cleaning yards.
   5. Campus open spaces, sports grounds, roadways, paved surfaces, parks, and institutional nursery grounds.

1. Reduce per-capita freshwater consumption year-on-year across all academic, hospital, and campus residential units through water-saving fixtures, behavioral campaigns, and digital metering.
2. Treat 100% of campus-generated sanitary sewage and clinical wastewater to statutory standards using electro-mechanical plants, constructed wetlands, and nature-based solutions, recirculating treated effluent entirely for non-potable campus applications.
3. Maximize rainwater harvesting and deep aquifer recharge across all campus surfaces to replenish regional groundwater tables.
4. Prevent all hazardous, clinical, domestic, solid, and liquid waste from entering campus water systems, municipal drains, open soil, or natural waterways.
5. Guarantee universal, barrier-free access to safe, tested drinking water for everyone on campus.
6. Enforce green building concepts aligned with IGBC norms, dual plumbing, and native drought-resilient landscaping in all capital projects.
7. Execute holistic community outreach across Uttarakhand, Himalayan states/UTs, Pan-India, and the Hindu Kush Himalayan region covering awareness, behavioural change and promoting water conscious, technical training, water scheme execution, water conservation, springshed rejuvenation, water quality surveillance, and climate-resilience research.

1. Groundwater Abstraction, Real-Time Telemetry & Water Auditing
   1. All campus groundwater abstraction via deep tubewells shall strictly follow Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) statutory guidelines and state regulatory permissions.
   2. The University shall maintain digital telemetry monitoring systems on campus piezometers to record water table fluctuations continuously, publishing real-time aquifer data on public digital platforms to ensure institutional transparency.
   3. Digital electromagnetic flow meters shall be installed at all tubewell abstraction points, municipal intake mains, treatment plant inlets and outlets, and distribution lines across academic, hospital, and residential sectors. Water supply system shall be digitalized using latest technologies to ensure sustainable potable water supply across the campus.
   4. The Infrastructure Development & Maintenance Department shall conduct regular water testing as per IS 10500, water audits, verifying abstraction volumes and resolving pipeline leaks within 24 hours of detection.
2. The Water Neutrality Approach: Harvesting, Aquifer Recharge & Catchment Balance

   The University shall implement surface collection and deep-aquifer recharge measures to counterbalance abstracted groundwater:

   1. Campus-Wide Rainwater Harvesting: The University shall capture rainwater runoff across institutional rooftops, paved roads, residential zones, and open grounds through integrated conveyance systems.
   2. Permanent Rooftop Storage Systems: Rainwater from institutional and residential roofs shall be channeled into dedicated underground storage structures equipped with filtration to supply non-potable water for flushing, utility washing and other usages across academic, hospital, and hostel blocks.
   3. Engineered Deep Aquifer Recharging: Overflow from storage tanks and surface runoff from roads and paved zones shall be channeled through filtration units into dedicated recharge pits and deep borewell injection structures to replenish regional aquifers.
   4. Off-Campus Hydrological Neutrality: The University’s water and sanitation department shall actively deploy recharge innovations across rural catchments, utilizing direct injection techniques through deep handpumps and recharge interventions to raise water tables and increase surrounding spring discharge.
3. The Water Circularity Approach: Closed-Loop Cycle & Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD)

   The University shall enforce closed-loop circular cascading across all water operations:

   1. Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Mandate: No raw, partially treated, or untreated wastewater shall cross institutional borders or enter nearby surface waterways. All wastewater generated on campus must be captured, treated, and completely reused.
   2. Integrated & Nature-Based Treatment Architecture:
      • Domestic Wastewater: The University shall operate and maintain a centralized Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) utilizing extended biological aeration, multi-media filtration, constructed wetlands, and nature-based biological purification systems to treat 100% of sanitary wastewater from hostels, residential quarters, and academic buildings.
      • Clinical & Laboratory Effluent: The University shall operate a dedicated Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) for clinical wastewater generated by hospital wards, pathology laboratories, surgical suites, and central laundry. The process must include primary equalization, chemical coagulation, neutralization, and secondary aeration prior to tertiary polishing.
   3. Statutory Quality Compliance: STP and ETP treated effluent must be tested periodically by an independent NABL-accredited analytical laboratory, ensuring strict compliance with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards for all environmental parameters before reuse.
   4. Circular Reclaimed Effluent Utilization: 100% of tertiary-treated water from the treatment systems shall be redirected through dedicated, color-coded pipelines for irrigating campus green belts, civil construction, and toilet flushing.
   5. Process Water Cascading:
      • Purification Reject Streams: Concentrated reject water from campus drinking water purifiers shall not be drained to sewer lines; it must be piped into secondary holding tanks to serve toilet flushing and laundry operations.
      • Condensate Recovery: Condensate drainage from central chillers and air conditioning units must be captured for use as cooling tower make-up water or auxiliary cleaning lines.
      • Fleet Transport Sanitization: 100% of University-owned vehicles must be washed at the central wash facility using reclaimed treated effluent.
      • Organic Sludge Repurposing: Stabilized, solar-dried biological sludge from treatment systems shall be tested for pathogens and repurposed as organic fertilizer for campus landscaping and nursery soil enrichment.
4. Sustainable Building Standards & Green Infrastructure
   1. Green Building Alignment: All new building construction, campus expansions, residential housing developments, and major infrastructure retrofits shall adhere to the water-efficiency and sustainability norms of the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) or related national and international green building bodies.
   2. Dual-Plumbing Architecture: Architectural plans for all new multi-story buildings, residential quarters, and hostel blocks must incorporate dual-plumbing infrastructure that segregates non-potable flushing lines from potable freshwater pipes.
   3. Water-Saving Fixtures:
      • Restrooms across academic blocks, hospitals, and residential hostels shall install odor-barrier waterless urinals or ultra-low flush sensor-operated units.
      • Conventional cisterns shall be retrofitted with volumetric displacement inserts, use of sand bottles or dual-flush mechanisms to reduce flush volumes.
      • Sensor-activated scrub sinks must be installed in all hospital Operation Theatres and procedural units to eliminate continuous-flow water loss during surgical preparation.
      • Push-taps and low-flow, pressure-compensating aerators shall be fitted across public and hostel wash basins, and all overhead storage tanks must operate automated cut-off float valves to prevent overflows.
5. Ecological Landscaping, Native Vegetation & Nursery Operations
   1. Groundwater Ban for Landscaping: The use of potable tubewell groundwater or municipal fresh water for irrigating lawns, flowerbeds, or sports fields is prohibited.
   2. 100% Recycled Water Irrigation: All horticultural and plantation needs across campus green spaces and residential surroundings shall be met using treated water from the wastewater treatment systems, delivered via dedicated distribution networks.
   3. Indigenous & Drought-Tolerant Species: A substantial majority of campus vegetation propagated by the University Nursery must consist of native Himalayan or drought-resilient varieties with low water requirements. High-water-demand ornamental lawns shall be minimized in favour of porous native ground cover.
   4. Smart Micro-Irrigation: Surface flood watering is prohibited. Groundskeeping must use localized drip irrigation, root-zone micro-sprinklers, and moisture-retaining organic mulching. Watering schedules must be restricted to early morning or late evening hours to eliminate evaporative loss.
6. Universal Potable Drinking Water Access
   1. The University guarantees free, safe, and unrestricted drinking water access for all students, staff, healthcare professionals, patients, attendants, residents, and visitors across campus premises.
   2. The campus shall maintain an accessible network of drinking water dispensing stations supported by regular filtration, disinfection, and testing protocols in strict compliance with BIS 10500 standards.
   3. Potability and microbial safety shall be verified regularly by the Department of Microbiology in strict compliance with national drinking water standards (BIS 10500).
7. Comprehensive Community Outreach, Regional Mountain Stewardship & Capacity Building

   The University shall extend its technical, hydrogeological, and operational expertise across Pan-India and the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries, with a primary focus on Uttarakhand and the Himalayan states/UTs, covering:

   1. Awareness & Community Mobilization: Organizing community campaigns, school programs, and public observances such as World Water Day and Swachhta Pakhwada to build civic responsibility and grassroots water stewardship.
   2. Capacity Building & Professional Training: Acting as a Key Resource Centre, delivering structured training programs for public health engineers, local government representatives, Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), and frontline community cadres.
   3. Water Supply Scheme Implementation: Designing and executing decentralized community drinking water supply schemes, climate-resilient water extraction facilities, and distribution systems to deliver potable tap water to unreached habitations.
   4. Aquifer Recharging & Springshed Management: Applying hydrogeological principles to map recharge areas, construct ridge-to-valley conservation measures, deploy direct-injection handpump recharge systems, and revive drying mountain springs to ensure long-term drinking water source sustainability.
   5. Water Quality Interventions: Conducting baseline sanitary surveys, laboratory testing, and deploying portable Field Testing Kits (FTKs) to empower rural communities to identify and mitigate chemical and bacteriological contamination.
   6. Applied Studies, Research & Climate Initiatives: Undertaking scientific action research, impact assessments, environmental and social audits of public sanitation infrastructure, and piloting climate-adaptation prototypes in the water, sanitation, environment, and climate change sectors.
8. Academic Curricular Integration & Research Innovation
   1. Academic faculties shall incorporate principles of water conservation, mountain hydrogeology, clinical wastewater safety, climate resilience, and waterborne disease epidemiology across relevant degree courses.
   2. Faculty members and research scholars shall be encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary water research, publish in indexed journals, and develop technologies for mountain water security.

This policy applies to all stakeholders of SRHU and will be managed by:

1. University Leadership: Responsible for oversee implementation and allocate resources for water conservation projects; monitor effectiveness and ensure compliance with this policy; evaluate conservation initiatives regularly.
2. Infrastructure Development & Maintenance Department: Responsible for civil engineering standards, IGBC compliance, operating wastewater treatment systems (STP/ETP/constructed wetlands), digitalization of water infrastructure, maintaining flow meters, telemetry units, plumbing retrofits, and dual-distribution lines across academic, hospital, and residential sectors.
3. Department of Water & Sanitation (WATSAN): Responsible for Provide technical expertise in water and sanitation projects and extend community outreach in water conservation and safe drinking water initiatives and implement schemes in remote villages. Undertake technical assessments, springshed rejuvenation, community scheme implementation, regional outreach across India and HKH countries, and conduct action research, studies water audits.
4. Constituent Colleges, Hospital Units & Residential Associations: Responsible for Integrate water conservation into research and projects. Maintaining daily water mindfulness, reporting leaks immediately, and participating in university sustainability campaigns.