Environmental Impact Analysis of a Water Supply System: Study of an Indian University Campus

Abstract

The paper aims at analyzing the water supply, its consumption, recycling and related energy consumption at a University campus in India. The university is located in semi-arid area and provides a unique example where the per capita water consumption is above the Indian average and the water is extracted from the overexploited groundwater aquifer. The groundwater is the only source of water supply providing 2.05 million liters of fresh water per day. In the last few years the university has embarked on water saving techniques using rain water harvesting and water recycling. The ground water extraction and its supply consume a lot of energy thereby increasing the environmental impact of the water supply. Mapping of the water source and consumption has provided valuable information to assess the major sources of water consumption and to take appropriate actions to optimize per capita water consumption and reduce water losses. The environmental impact of the water supply system on campus has been determined by conducting a life cycle assessment using Umberto NXT universal life cycle assessment software with ReCiPe endpoint and midpoint methods. It was found that tap water used in buildings has highest impact on environment while the recycled water used for irrigation has nearly zero impact.