IIT-Madras to conduct independent audit of its campus

IIT Madras has been working to reduce its dependence on the city’s water supply system since 2017.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has decided to go for a green audit of its campus next month. A third party will be doing this audit and a tender has been called already for the process. According to Ligy Philip, Dean, Planning, the audit would be conducted to assess their performance towards achieving a green campus. “We are going for Indian Green Building Council certification. The energy audit is part of the green audit,” she said.

IIT Madras working to reduce its dependence on city’s water supply

The campus is home to around 15,000 individuals of which 11,500 are students. Another 3,000 persons visit daily. Next year the institute will add another 2,500 students pushing the human population to around 18,000 to 20,000.

IIT Madras has been working to reduce its dependence on the city’s water supply system since 2017. By recycling its water, it has become a zero discharge campus. In the past five years, the institute has re-laid pipelines so that all toilets across its hostels, academic and residential buildings, use only treated water.

Currently the institute consumes around 3.2 million litres a day of which as much as 1.5 mld is drawn from Metrowater. Professor Ligy, a civil engineer, said recycling water saved the institution INR 1.3 lakh a day on water bill. It is also generating revenue as the neighbouring research park buys 2 lakh lt/day.

The institute has built a sewage treatment plant with a capacity to treat 4 mld. Treated water is used for gardens, lawns and the AC chiller plant, according to the Hindu.

Institute aims to get at Indian Green Building Council certification

In order to save up to INR 40,000 on electricity bills, IIT is currently installing a centralised AC system. “Each tonne of AC needs 8lt/hr water. We have planned a centralised system of 3,200 tonnes. We are going to use treated sewage water for this,” she said.

Unused water would be sent to the infiltration well and the lake which has been deepened to 20ft. It can store 270 m lt. With rainwater also draining into the lake the treatment plant would allow them to draw eight lakh litres a day.

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