Universitas Islam Sultan Agung (UNISSULA) applies institutional standards and guidelines for the management, treatment, monitoring, and discharge of wastewater in order to maintain water quality and protect ecosystems, biodiversity, wildlife, and human health.

The institutional framework is established through UNISSULA Circular Letter No. 9026/J/SA/IX/2025, dated 11 September 2025. The Circular Letter requires wastewater to be treated before discharge, requires discharged water to meet applicable wastewater quality standards, establishes periodic monitoring of discharge quality, and prohibits the direct discharge of wastewater that has not met the required standards.

Institutional Standards for Water Discharge

UNISSULA recognises that wastewater discharge can affect water bodies, soil, ecosystems, wildlife, and human health if it is not properly managed.

For this reason, the university applies a clear sequence of wastewater management:

Treatment → Quality monitoring → Compliance verification → Discharge

Wastewater may only be released to the environment after appropriate treatment and after meeting the applicable wastewater quality requirements.

This framework applies across university units and relevant parties responsible for wastewater generation or management.

Wastewater Must Be Treated before Discharge

The first requirement of Circular Letter No. 9026/J/SA/IX/2025 states that wastewater intended for discharge to the environment must first undergo treatment and comply with applicable wastewater quality standards.

This requirement establishes a fundamental principle:

Untreated wastewater must not be discharged directly into the environment.

Treatment is required to reduce pollutants and ensure that discharged water does not create unnecessary risks to environmental and human health.

Compliance with Applicable Water Quality Standards

UNISSULA requires wastewater discharge to comply with the applicable wastewater quality standards.

The university therefore does not rely only on the physical presence of wastewater treatment facilities.

Treated water must also satisfy the required quality criteria before being released.

This approach connects wastewater management with measurable environmental compliance:

Wastewater generation → Treatment → Quality assessment → Compliance with standards → Controlled discharge

Periodic Monitoring of Discharge Quality

Water-discharge quality must be monitored periodically.

The Circular Letter requires examination of the parameters required under applicable standards to confirm that treated wastewater meets the necessary quality requirements before being released to the environment.

Periodic monitoring enables UNISSULA to:

• Verify treatment performance
• Identify potential problems
• Detect non-compliant wastewater
• Implement corrective measures
• Prevent pollution before discharge occurs

Monitoring therefore serves as an essential control mechanism within the wastewater management system.

Quality Testing before Environmental Release

The purpose of wastewater-quality monitoring is not simply administrative documentation.

Testing is carried out to determine whether treated wastewater is suitable for discharge.

Only wastewater that complies with applicable requirements should proceed to environmental release.

This provides a preventive environmental-management framework rather than relying on corrective action after pollution has already occurred.

Prohibition on Non-Compliant Discharge

The third provision of the Circular Letter explicitly prohibits wastewater that has not yet met the required quality standards from being discharged directly into the environment.

Where wastewater does not comply with the applicable standards, additional treatment or corrective action must be undertaken first.

The procedure can therefore be represented as:

Quality test → Compliant → Controlled discharge

Or, where standards are not met:

Quality test → Non-compliant → Further treatment/corrective action → Re-evaluation

This helps prevent untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater from entering the environment.

Protection of Ecosystems

The Circular Letter directly links wastewater standards with ecosystem protection.

Poor-quality wastewater can affect aquatic environments, terrestrial habitats, drainage systems, soil, vegetation, and organisms that depend on clean water.

UNISSULA therefore manages water discharge not simply as an operational issue, but as an environmental responsibility.

Wastewater treatment and discharge controls help reduce the risk of pollutants entering surrounding ecosystems.

Protection of Biodiversity and Wildlife

Maintaining water quality is also important for biodiversity.

Wildlife can be affected directly or indirectly when contaminated water enters habitats, drainage systems, ponds, rivers, soil, or vegetation.

The UNISSULA water-discharge framework therefore supports the protection of wildlife and biodiversity by preventing inappropriate wastewater release and requiring compliance with discharge-quality requirements.

Protection of Human Health

Water pollution can also create risks to human health and welfare.

The policy therefore explicitly includes human health within the purpose of wastewater management.

By requiring treatment, monitoring, and corrective action before discharge, UNISSULA reduces the possibility that wastewater from university activities will create unnecessary exposure risks for the university community or surrounding communities.

Wastewater Treatment Facilities

UNISSULA supports the institutional guidelines through the operation of wastewater-treatment facilities.

The UNISSULA Sustainability Report documents wastewater treatment through campus wastewater units and at Sultan Agung Islamic Hospital (RSI Sultan Agung). The report states that wastewater receives tertiary treatment to improve effluent quality.

This demonstrates that wastewater standards are supported by operational infrastructure rather than existing only as written requirements.

Water Pollution Control

UNISSULA also conducts regular water audits and quality testing as part of its water-pollution-control practices.

The Sustainability Report records that these activities are supported by the installation and operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants to ensure that discharged water meets the required quality standards.

The university’s approach can therefore be summarised as:

Standards + Treatment facilities + Periodic testing + Discharge control

Treatment and Reuse of Water

The Sustainability Report also documents the reuse of treated non-potable water for purposes including fish ponds, landscape and ornamental plants, and controlled drainage recharge.

Water reuse provides an additional environmental benefit because it can reduce the volume of treated wastewater requiring final discharge while making productive use of water after treatment.

This supports a more circular approach:

Wastewater → Treatment → Quality improvement → Reuse where appropriate → Reduced environmental discharge

Environmental Compliance

Water-discharge management at UNISSULA is aligned with applicable environmental requirements.

Rather than establishing arbitrary internal thresholds, the Circular Letter requires compliance with relevant wastewater quality standards and legally applicable environmental provisions.

This allows the university’s wastewater management system to remain aligned with the technical requirements applicable to each facility and type of wastewater.

Corrective Action

Wastewater treatment systems may require adjustment if monitoring identifies non-compliance.

UNISSULA therefore requires corrective action before non-compliant wastewater can be discharged.

Possible corrective measures may involve additional treatment, operational adjustment, maintenance, or other necessary interventions appropriate to the wastewater-management system.

The important institutional principle is that non-compliant wastewater must not proceed directly to environmental discharge.

Application across University Operations

Circular Letter No. 9026/J/SA/IX/2025 is addressed to leadership across faculties, bureaus, institutes, technical units, administrative units, and relevant institutional structures within UNISSULA.

This establishes water-discharge management as an institution-wide environmental responsibility.

Different units may generate different forms and volumes of wastewater, but the same general principle applies:

Treat appropriately → Verify quality → Prevent non-compliant discharge

Institutional Framework Adopted in 2025

Circular Letter No. 9026/J/SA/IX/2025 was formally issued on 11 September 2025.

The document was issued on behalf of the Rector by the Vice Rector I of UNISSULA, providing institutional authority for the implementation of wastewater-quality requirements throughout the university.

Evidence of Implementation

UNISSULA’s water-discharge management framework is demonstrated through the following measures:

1. Wastewater treatment before dischargeWastewater intended for environmental discharge must first undergo treatment.
2. Compliance with wastewater quality standardsTreated wastewater must comply with applicable wastewater-quality requirements before release.
3. Periodic quality monitoringDischarged water is subject to periodic monitoring using the parameters required by applicable standards.
4. Prohibition of non-compliant dischargeWastewater that has not met the required standards may not be discharged directly to the environment.
5. Corrective action before dischargeAdditional treatment or corrective measures must be undertaken where wastewater does not meet the required quality standards.
6. Operation of wastewater-treatment facilitiesWastewater is treated through campus facilities and wastewater-treatment systems associated with Sultan Agung Islamic Hospital.
7. Regular water-quality testingUNISSULA documents regular water audits and quality testing to support water-pollution control.
8. Reuse of treated waterTreated non-potable water is reused where appropriate, including for landscaping and other controlled purposes.