WATER MANAGEMENT IN VIT CAMPUS

DURING SUMMER
J Component Project
for
PHY1999 Introduction to Innovation Projects
Submitted by
Tavish Tevatia (17BCE2029)
Prakhar Singh Parihar (17BCE0937)
Shashank Nishad (17BCE0564)
Shaikat Das Joy (17BCI0198)
Kapish Mishra (17BCL0307)
Akshat Jain (17BME0366)
Kshitij Chadha (18BCE0734)
Kamalanathan.I (18BCM0144)

To
Dr. S. Balakrishnan
In
TB2 SLOT

Department of Physics
School of Advanced Sciences
VIT University, Vellore
Tamil Nadu - 632 014

April 2019
 Department of Physics
SCHOOL OF ADVANCED SCIENCES
J Component Project
Introduction to Innovation Projects (PHY1999)

It is certified that the project entitled “WATER MANAGEMENT IN VIT CAMPUS

DURING SUMMER” is the bonafide work for J component of Engineering Physics by
the following students

Tavish Tevatia (17BCE2029)

Prakhar Singh Parihar (17BCE0937)
Shashank Nishad (17BCE0564)
Shaikat Das Joy (17BCI0198)
Kapish Mishra (17BCL0307)
Akshat Jain (17BME0366)
Kshitij Chadha (18BCE0734)
Kamalanathan.I (18BCM0144)

under my supervision in TB2 slot during the Winter Semester -2018-19 at V.I.T.
University, Vellore-632 014.

Faculty Signature:

Date: 06/04/2019
1. INTRODUCTION

Water is an essential resource for all life on the planet. Of the water resources on Earth, only

three percent of it is fresh and two-thirds of the freshwater is locked up in ice caps and glaciers.

Of the remaining one percent, a fifth is in remote, inaccessible areas and much seasonal rainfall

in monsoonal deluges and floods cannot easily be used. As time advances, water is becoming

scarcer and having access to clean, safe, drinking water is limited among countries. At present

only about 0.08 percent of all the world’s fresh water is exploited by mankind in an ever-

increasing demand for sanitation, drinking, manufacturing, leisure, and agriculture. Due to the

small percentage of water remaining, optimizing the fresh water we have left from natural

resources has been a continuous difficulty in several locations worldwide.

Much effort in water resource management is directed at optimizing the use of water and in

minimizing the environmental impact of water use on the natural environment. The observation

of water as an integral part of the ecosystem is based on integrated water resource management,

where the quantity and quality of the ecosystem help to determine the nature of the natural

resources.

As a limited resource, water supply sometimes supposes a challenge. This fact is assumed by the

project DESAFIO (the acronym for Democratization of Water and Sanitation Governance by

Means of Socio-Technical Innovations), which has been developed along 30 months and funded

by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program for research, technological development

and demonstration. This project faced a difficult task for developing areas: eliminating structural

social inequity in access to indispensable water and public health services. The DESAFIO

engineers worked on a water treatment system run with solar power and filters which provides

safe water to a very poor community in the state of Minas Gerais. Successful management of any
resources requires accurate knowledge of the resource available, the uses to which it may be put,

the competing demands for the resource, measures to and processes to evaluate the significance

and worth of competing demands and mechanisms to translate policy decisions into actions on

the ground. For water as a resource, this is particularly difficult since sources of water can cross

many national boundaries and the uses of water include many that are difficult to assign financial

value to and may also be difficult to manage in conventional terms. Examples include rare

species or ecosystems or the very long-term value of ancient groundwater reserves.

Water resource management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing

the optimum use of water resources. It is a subset of water cycle management. The field of water

resources management will have to continue to adapt to the current and future issues facing the

allocation of water. With the growing uncertainties of global climate change and the long-term

impacts of management actions, the decision-making will be even more difficult. It is likely that

ongoing climate change will lead to situations that have not been encountered. As a result,

alternative management strategies are sought in order to avoid setbacks in the allocation of water

resources. Ideally, water resource management planning has regard to all the competing demands

for water and seeks to allocate water on an equitable basis to satisfy all uses and demands. As

with other resource management, this is rarely possible in practice.

One of the biggest concerns for our water-based resources in the future is the sustainability of the

current and even future water resource allocation. As water becomes more scarce, the importance

of how it is managed grows vastly. Finding a balance between what is needed by humans and

what is needed in the environment is an important step in the sustainability of water resources.

Attempts to create sustainable freshwater systems have been seen on a national level in countries

such as Australia, and such commitment to the environment could set a model for the rest of the
world. Water is considered as a powerful indicator of sustainability. It is a pointer of neediness

and social strains and the development of the country. Human practices are putting extreme

pressure on the World's water assets. Increasing demands, adverse climatic conditions and

increasing issues of contamination have concentrated on how water assets are overseen by the

masses.

The World needs to guarantee that a steady supply of clean water addresses both the issues of

society and the common habitat. There are two primary dangers to the nature of the provided

water:

• Water deliberation may make issues with deference low streams in waterways, bringing down

groundwater tables in nature zones, and salt-water interruption in seaside regions. The resulting

long-term loss of groundwater as a characteristic asset influences drinking water supply, soil

quality, and biodiversity.

• Groundwater is contaminated by nitrogen and pesticides spilling through the root zone of the

dirt. Long residence times make nitrogen contamination now a hazard for drinking water for

future generations.

Fresh, clean water is a restricted asset. While the greater part of the planet is canvassed in water,

it is salt water that must be devoured by people and different species in the wake of experiencing

desalination, which is a costly procedure. Events such as droughts further limit access to perfect

and new water, which means individuals need to find a way to decrease water use and spare

however much water as could be expected. In certain zones of the world, access to water is

restricted due to contamination. Individuals who have access to fresh water should find a way to

restrain their utilization of water to avoid wastage.

Individuals try to do their best to conserve water for three reasons. The less water utilized or

squandered by individuals and the less perfect water will wind up contaminated. At times,

utilizing abundance measures of water puts a strain on septic and sewage systems, leading to

contamination of groundwater, as untreated, dirty water seeps from the sewers into the ground.

Water conservation reduces energy use and can save households money. Most families pay to

utilize water in their urban areas or locales. The less water a family unit utilizes, the less they

need to pay every period. Appliances that use water, such as washing machines and dishwashers,

also use a considerable amount of energy. As the carrying capacity of the Earth increases greatly

due to technological advances, urbanization in modern times occurs because of economic

opportunity. This rapid urbanization happens worldwide but mostly in new rising economies and

developing countries. Cities in Africa and Asia are growing fastest with 28 out of 39 megacities

(a city or urban area with more than 10 million inhabitants) worldwide in these developing

nations. The number of megacities will continue to rise reaching approximately 50 in 2025. With

developing economies water scarcity is a very common and very prevalent issue. Global

freshwater resources dwindle in the eastern hemisphere either than at the poles and with the

majority of urban development, millions live with insufficient fresh water. This is caused by

polluted freshwater resources, overexploited groundwater resources, insufficient harvesting

capacities in the surrounding rural areas, poorly constructed and maintained water supply

systems, high amount of informal water use and insufficient technical and water management

capacities.
2. OBJECTIVE

• To do a study on water management system in VIT.

• Collect information of various technics used by VIT for a regular water supply in the

college.

• Design of hostel blocks and other buildings for water harvesting.

• To get opinion of students on the quality of water in VIT through an online survey.

• Making students aware for not wasting water .

• Suggest some more technics to improve the management of water in VIT.

3. Water Management

Water management means dealing with water in the best possible way. This can be done by local

authorities or it can be done by individuals at home

Good water management will involve organizing water so that everyone has enough, and

controlling water supplies and water treatment centers so that they work in the best possible

way. It thus often involves some knowledge of the chemical properties of water.
3.1 Problem in VIT because of Water

In VIT most of the students have some problem about water. The most common problem is they

are losing their hair. Generally, the cause of hair fall is Chlorine Water and Hard Water. Chlorine

is a chemical added to tap water by the municipal corporations to get rid of pollutants. But

regular exposure to chlorine can make our hair dry and eventually lead to hair loss. Chlorine is

also added to the water in swimming pools and you must ensure that you don’t expose your hair

for a long duration when you go for a swim. Hard water is the major cause of hair loss. It

contains high amounts of magnesium, silica and calcium, which lead to breakage, dryness and

thinning of hair. Hard water also leads to dandruff and destroys your hair follicles.

Another Problem they have is most of the time in summer water is so hot. So, maximum students

use cold drinking water for bath. And also some student have skin diseases and various kinds of

diseases because of water.

4. Methodology

An example of smaller scale treatment process is in Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT,

Vellore), where the domestic wastewater is treated by using biological means. Decentralized

wastewater management (DWWM) systems treat wastewater of apartment blocks or small

communities close to their origin. Typically, the decentralized system is a combination of many

technologies within a given geographical boundary.

Decentralized wastewater management (DWWM) may be defined as “the collection, treatment,

and disposal/reuse of wastewater from individual homes, clusters of homes, isolated

communities, industries, or institutional facilities, as well as from portions of existing

communities at or near the point of waste generation”.

In case of decentralized systems, both solid and liquid fractions of the wastewater are utilized

near their point of origin, except in some cases when a portion of liquid and residual solids may

be transported to a centralized point for further treatment and reuse .

4.1 Situations Suitable for DWWMs

• Where clusters of on-site systems are existing and there is no control on the fate of the
pollutants

• Improper maintenance of on-site treatment systems and exorbitant cost of conventional

remediation by implementation of centralized systems

• Community / institutional facility is far away from the existing centralized system
 • Localities where there is scarcity of freshwater

• Localities where there is a possibility for localized reuse of treated wastewater

4.2 Advantages of Decentralized Wastewater Management Systems

(DWWMs)

1. Flows at any point in the system would remain small, implying less environmental damage

from any mishap.

2. System construction results in less environmental disturbances as smaller pipes would be

installed at shallow depths and could be more flexibly routed

3. Treatment units are close knit and are free from odours and insects.

4. Lesser investment is required for the sewer pipelines.

4.3 FOR DAILY DEMAND OF WATER

Therefore 110 liters of water per person per day on an average is required in VIT ,Vellore

campus .

From database,

No of students in VIT =6000-7000

Water required per day on an average = 6000*110 lpcd

= 660,000 lpcd

To supply this water requirement VIT has installed 2 water treatment plants at 2 different

location (one next to E block men’s hostel) and another backside of TT (Technology Tower).

“The water management seems to be little weak at Peak hours from studies.”
4.4 IN VIT

In case of VIT water management is based on Decentralized water management system .

Water from various block both academic and Hostel block are collected by pipelines and then it

is collected at sewage treatment plant (STP) .

At STP all the water undergoes various unit treatments and unit processes .

Series of treatment are :

1. Storage 2. Chlorination (pre) 3. Aeration

4. Rapid mixing 5. Flocculation (slow mixing) 6. Sedimentation

7. Slow sand filtration 8. Rapid sand 9. Softening

10. Chlorination 11. Demineralization

The water thus treated from STP again goes to hostel blocks for use as toilet flush , and bathing

and also for irrigating our green campus .

In this way the water is being managed inside VIT campus and VIT is paying a lot amount of

money for the operation and management of STP .

4.5 Some Process are there

Greywater

• is the wastewater collected from household

• activities except toilet wastewater

• or except toilet & kitchen wastewater

 Greywater Treatment Systems:

• These are systems used to treat domestic greywater in order to be suitable for restricted

irrigation of home gardens. (treated to a standard satisfactory for intended reuse).

Restricted irrigation: is irrigation of all types of crops with treated greywater except

vegetables and plants including edible parts that can get in direct contact with irrigation

water wither these parts are eaten raw or cooked

• Grey water filtration systems can help you save 35% to 40% on your annual water bill,

and while saving money, you will also help save the environment and provide a better

future for our children.

• UNESCO has predicted that by 2020 water shortage will be a serious worldwide

problem.”

• The Grey Water Recycling System is a must for anyone who cares about the

environment to replenish the water shortage and reduces environmental pollution as

well as waste water production.

4.6 Some process in VIT

Design

The Sewage Treatment Plant design is based upon the daily average flow and the average

characteristics as determined from a weighted 24 hr composite sample. The hydraulic design

load varies for the various components in the plant. Grit channel, screen and the various

channels, conduits etc are designed to accommodate maximum flow.

Total wastewater per day 200,000-500,000

Collection Tank (Volume) 90kLD

Aeration Tank (Volume) 25kLD

Settling Tank (Volume) 15kLD

Filter Feed Tank (Volume) 20kLD

Effluent Transfer Pump, Sludge Recirculation Pump, Filter Feed Pump, Blower, Pressure

Sand Filter and Activated Carbon Filter are used for various purposes.

Operation

The main units of the plant are designed for maximum efficacy within a set flow range and

effluent quality. Proper maintenance is done to keep equipment and processes functioning

properly without interruption. Close control and coordination of operation of different units

is maintained within the plant. Thus, flow measuring devices and meters are employed to

regulate the raw sewage, settled sewage, air, sludge and effluent.

Fig 4.6: Schematic diagram representing treatment steps in VIT sewage treatment plant
4.7 Survey
56% of the people said VIT’s Water is average, 25% of people said good and 19% of people
said bad.

Here 80% people drink 5-6 liters water in a day and 19% people drink 6-8 liters . 1% drink

8-12 liters.
Here maximum people’s problem is Hair fall. And some of them have skin problem and
discolor of cloth

57% of people don’t feel ill due to bad condition of water and 43% of people feel ill because of
bad condition of water.
93% of people said that water is sufficient for their daily use other 7% think water is not
sufficient for them.

Here maximum of them gave their opinion on wastage of water in VIT.

35.6% have experience when they suffered water problem in VIT and 39.6 don’t have any
experience about this problem.
45.6% are think that they are safe in VIT Hostel in case of Fire and 17.8% don’t think that they
are safe rest 36.6% are doubtful about this matter.
4.8 E- Poster
5. Summary of the Results:

The water problem in Vellore is not a new one that is faced by people living here and specially

during the summers, the water shortage is a major issue that people face. Here dug wells and

numerous tanneries necessitates large quantity of water to fulfil its requirements. The growing

demand of water in quality as well in quantity in the area and long-term water level fluctuations

indicates lowering of water table in Vellore. Development of ground water in the district and

waste water treatment seek immediate attention. Now establishment of wastewater reuse

program and usage of reclaimed wastewater is a significant and reliable alternative solution. In

Vellore, the industrial wastewater from tanneries is collected in CETP’s (Common Effluent

Treatment Plants). In Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT, Vellore) a smaller scale wastewater

treatment process is carried out using biological means. The sewage treatment here aims to

stabilize decomposable organic matter present into treated wastewater and sludge without

causing health hazards and nuisance. The treatment process is carried out so as to comply with

the norms set by the regulatory agencies. VIT adheres to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control

Board norms.

At the moment VIT has a working waste water management systems which are responsible for

the treatment of the waste water. The sewage water is collected in the treatment facility and then

is treated for its reuse. During summers especially water shortage is major issue faced by the

students in VIT and therefore wastewater treatment is necessary in VIT to meet the needs of all

the students, other staff members and for daily needs. The treated water is used for the gardening

purposes as well as it recharges the water table also with purified water. The reclaimed waste

water is also used to flush all the toilets in men’s and women’s hostels. The major issue is the
quality of water that is available in VIT and that does not meet the standards, it is expected to as

per the opinions of many students living in VIT.

As per the survey done by our team, majority of the students consider the water in VIT to be hard

which is truly the case and due to this they face problems like hair fall, skin issues, increased

dandruff in hair, discoloration of clothes etc. Sometimes students also feel ill because of the bad

quality of water, some of them had a bad experience when they suffered from water problem

inside VIT. Manage of water in campus is a hard job as there is a lot of student studying in VIT

and also a large campus makes this job even harder. The gardening and irrigation done here is

good as the campus always stays green and VIT is encouraging to plant more trees which

eventually increases water table and also hold the groundwater. Rainwater harvesting is a good

way to use the pure rain water and in the region where sufficient rainfall happens, it saves a lot of

water. Now it is required for the authorities in VIT to adopt better and more ways for the waste

water treatment. The treatment of hard water should be adopted to make it softer for use for the

students. The college authorities and students should work towards improving the quality of

water and its proper usage. The sustainable use of this precious elixir is important for better

tomorrow.

6. CONCLUSION:

The increasing demand of water inside our campus, because of the increasing number of

admissions taken by VIT takes a toll on the quantity and quality of water that should be supplied

to the students, which can clearly be seen in the reports of the survey that we had conducted.

While many complaints were related to the quantity and the diseases that spread due to the
quality of water, the most generic one was related to the hair fall that students face at such an

early stage of their lives.

Hence to tackle these problems related to the quantity and quality of water being supplied, we

must try and inculcate the knowledge of restricted irrigation to the people who are responsible

for keeping the greenery in our campus alive.

Moreover, the usage of the heart tap water must be initiated, which would help to conserve

around 25% of water used. Providing laundry education to students, and watering plants at night

to reduce water wastage are also some of the methods to reduce the unnecessary wastage of

funds in this sector of VIT.

The funds that can be saved here, can be used to install hard water purifiers, which can lead to

treated and safe water being provided to the students.

While the DWWM system is working quite well in our college, there are some things to ponder

about it as well, such as what quality of water is being provided to us because of the large

number of students present in our campus, and if the system is cost-effective or not.

Therefore, I would like to conclude by saying that despite certain limitations, its pros outweigh

its cons significantly and therefore it is a must in usage, inside our campus. Easy transportation

due to less distance, green and sustainable system of working and the reuse of effluents makes it

a perfect and logical solution to all water related problems in our college
7. REFERENCES

[1] Walmsly, N., & Pearce, G. (2010). Towards Sustainable Water Resources Management:

Bringing the Strategic Approach up-to-date. Irrigation & Drainage Systems, 24(3/4), 191-203.

[2] USGS - Earth's water distribution

[3] Fry, Carolyn The Impact of Climate Change: The World's Greatest Challenge in the Twenty-

first Century 2008, New Holland Publishers Ltd

[4] Alcamo, J., Shaw, R., and Hordijk, L. (eds.) (1990) The Rains Model Of Acidification

Science and Strategies in Europe. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

[5] Eurostat, 1998, Water in World. Part 1: Renewable water resources, Luxembourg;

[6] Pickford, J. (ed.) (1991) The Worth of Water: Technical Briefs on Health, Water and

Sanitation. Intermediate Technology Publications: London (UK).

[7] ETC-IW, 1996, Water resources problems in southern Europe, ISBN 92-9167-056-1,

Copenhagen

[8] Birley, M.H. (-) Guidelines for Forecasting the Vector-borne Disease Implications of Water

Resources Development. WHO Collaborating Centre: Environmental Management for Vector

Control, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine: Liverpool (UK).

8. AKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

It gives me much pleasure to throw light on the contribution put forward by the people involved

in the making of our project titled “Water Management in VIT Campus”.

Firstly, I would like to thank our professor, Mr. Balakrishnan S., for providing us the opportunity

to make this project and enhance our life skills immensely. The brilliant and innovative ideas

provided to us by our professor helped us to improve and finally complete this project.

Also, a sincere vote of thanks on behalf of our group to all the people who actively and

enthusiastically participated in our interviews and gave their honest opinions on our project.

The knowledgeable and smart ideas provided by the participants helped us to refine our project

and complete it successfully.

I would also like to thank our college VIT University, Vellore, for providing us the necessary

materials and resources required for the completion of our project.

Last but not the least, I would like to acknowledge the efforts put in my each and every member

of our group. Without the constant help and support of each other, we wouldn’t have been able to

complete our project on time with such brilliance.

WITH SINCERE THANKS:

1) Akshat Jain
2) Kapish Mishra
3) Kamalanathan L.
4) Kshitij Chadha
5) Prakhar Singh Parihar
6) Shaikat Das Joy
7) Shashank Nishad
8) Tavish Tevatia