Water Positive Campus

What is Water Positive Campus?

“A commercial or residential developments are said to be water positive when they are creating more water than they are using.”

or

“A water positive campus produces more water than it consumes.”

How can it be Achieved?

There are three ways by which campus can become water positive:

1) Rainwater Harvesting: We have already discussed earlier rainwater potential in India. Harvesting rainwater is the simplest way to conserve water. This water can be used for drinking and other purposes after treatment or it can be transferred to GW recharge pit for groundwater recharge.

2) Wastewater treatment, Recycling and reuse: Recycling wastewater after treatment is next step towards being water positive. About 50 percent of domestic wastewater generated can be reused after treatment. For an efficient treatment, microSTP is a electro-coagulation based low-cost treatment plant which can be installed in small homes to large campuses.

3) Optimizing Water Use: It means reducing the amount of water you consume by installing water-efficient appliances, taps and fittings or limiting your water usage. For an example, replacing ordinary tap with tap aerator can save as much as up to half your water usage. Adopting sensor-based irrigation system (SMART DRIP) for home-garden can save up to 95 percent of water.

Example: A college hostel has the strength of 300 students who stay in the hostel for 300 days a year. The per capita water demand of students is 125 Liters/day. College campus has a rooftop area (5,500 m2) and green area (16,500 m2) available.  The average rainfall in the region is 900 mm.  Is this campus have the potential to become water positive?

Why it is Important?

In India, freshwater resources are depleting every year. Today India is water-stressed and moving towards what's technically termed “water scarcity condition” with a majority of the country. Water positive campus is a sustainable concept which can overcome the water crisis in future in a greener way!