IIT-Madras gets new research centre for wastewater analysis

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) is establishing a new research centre that will test wastewater for indicator organisms and chemicals and make the data available to the public.

The Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) facility being established by the International Centre for Clean Water (ICCW) will act as an intelligence unit to track and prevent a virus outbreak in its early stages. The project is being supported with funding of $1 million by CryptoRelief, an initiative started by Sandeep Nailwal.

The data obtained from various wastewater sources and treatment facilities will be analysed and made available to the public. There are also plans are to extend the WBE facility to other parts of India.

The WBE project includes tracking pollutants, pesticides, licit and illicit drugs in wastewater to which general population may be exposed, the institute said.

Padma Shri Awardee and Professor-in-Charge by ICCW Prof T Pradeep, said ensuring clean water for people needs a detailed understanding of wastewater. “The ICCW team will work on building a hydro-informatics platform for the city with appropriate modelling tools to give spatiotemporal information of the data derived from WBE studies,” he stated.

Speaking about the project, Nailwal said: “We intend to help the public, policymakers, practitioners and public health officials combat the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic through wastewater analysis.”

The WBE will also be employed to detect emerging issues of concern such as increasing antimicrobial resistance due to excessive consumption of antibiotics. Identifying the right policies to control pharmaceuticals and personal care products will be of great value in improving public health, the IIT-M said in a statement.

The ICCW has been developing state-of-the-art technologies for affordable clean water. Creating a reliable platform for periodic analysis of wastewater will ensure better water security for the community. IIT Madras and ICCW envision providing practical solutions to build a healthier country through wastewater-based epidemiology research.