Free Drinking Water at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

• Over 750 water dispensers, water-doctors, fountains, and coolers have been installed in strategic locations across academic blocks, hostels, libraries, sports complexes, and outdoor transit points. These units are strategically placed to ensure that clean drinking water is available within a short walking distance anywhere on campus, supporting an inclusive environment for students, staff, and visitors.
• A dedicated water filtration/treatment system is provided for every 50 members (students or staff), ensuring consistent clean and safe drinking water where needed.

Water Doctors, which refer to dedicated, monitored drinking-water stations and dispensers, are stationed across the campus to provide uninterrupted supply of clean drinking water. Each water station is supplied free of cost, emphasizing the institution’s commitment to equitable access and public health.

Across all campuses, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham ensures that free drinking water meets national safety standards through regular testing by NABL-accredited laboratories. Comprehensive physico-chemical, heavy-metal, and microbiological analyses confirm that all parameters—including pH, turbidity, TDS, hardness, chlorine levels, sulphates, nitrates, and trace metals such as arsenic and cyanide—remain within the permissible limits of IS 10500:2012. Microbiological tests consistently report zero coliforms and zero E. coli, ensuring complete bacteriological safety. These findings validate that Amrita provides clean, safe, and fully compliant drinking water to students, staff, and visitors through stringent monitoring and accredited laboratory verification.

In addition, Amrita maintains strict preventive maintenance schedules, including filter replacement cycles, microbiological testing, and mechanical checks, ensuring maximum uptime and optimal water safety.

Developed by Amrita researchers, the Jivamritam multistage purification unit represents a scalable, community-based water filtration solution used both on campus and in rural outreach projects across India.

The Jivamritam system has a dual sand-and-activated-carbon filter to remove suspended particles and turbidity, followed by micron filters of five-micron and one-micron filtration. Each system also includes an ultraviolet water-purifier to remove pathogenic contamination, and two storage tanks —2,000-litre-inlet and a 1,000-litre outlet — to keep treated and untreated water separate.

The filtered-water tanks are integrated with taps to provide drinking water at the location of the system. constituted of four levels of purification (i) a dual-medium activated carbon and four layers of marble crushed sand to reduce excess chlorine and turbidity from the water, (ii) a five micron filter (iii) a one micron filter for removing suspended particles and bacteria larger than 1 μm, and (iv) an ultraviolet (UV) lamp for disinfection from pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, etc. The remaining bacteria after the micron level filtration were disinfected using the UV lamp to ensure the safety of drinking water.

• All water points are designed to be inclusive with easy access for individuals with disabilities.
• To reduce dependence on single-use plastics, the university promotes the use of reusable bottles, encouraging refills at fountains and coolers.
• Energy-efficient coolers are used across campuses. In addition, the university has expanded rainwater harvesting systems to supplement water supply and reduce environmental impact.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham ensures that visitors, guests, and event participants have free and easy access to safe drinking water at all times. Water Doctors are installed at visitor lobbies, reception areas, auditoriums, conference venues, and high-footfall public spaces across campuses.

During events, conferences, workshops, cultural programs, and public gatherings, additional temporary water stations (Water Doctors) are deployed to meet increased demand and ensure uninterrupted access for visitors. These water stations are clearly signposted, free of cost, and maintained to the same quality and safety standards as permanent campus drinking-water infrastructure.

Sustainability Measures Integrated Into Water Provision

To reduce the environmental footprint of hydration infrastructure, Amrita has adopted:

• Energy-efficient cooling units across campuses
• Rainwater harvesting systems that supplement water sources
• Use of durable, long-life filtration membranes to reduce waste
• Plastic reduction policies, including awareness drives to minimize bottled water consumption