Page 238 - Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi İngilizce - Özel Sayı

Rainwater Harvesting Studies Across The World and Türkye

cultivation in Gaziantep and olive farming in İzmir. Moreover, in the afforestation
efforts conducted in Konya, eyebrow trial plans were developed for contour
ridges and eyebrow terraces.
Micro catchment water harvesting methods such as ridge and furrow have
been applied in income-generating crops like squash, dry beans, chickpeas,
watermelon, and melon, and yield increases have been observed in these
agricultural products (Yıldırım, 2022). Similar work is done by various state
institutions and universities in different regions across Türkiye. A piloting
site was established with the project “Determining the Effects of Micro
Catchment Water Harvesting Applications on Soil Moisture in Semi-Arid
Areas,” conducted by the Soil Fertilizer and Water Resources Central Research
Institute Directorate, and it was observed that in addition to control area and
micro catchment techniques, mulching application increased soil moisture
compared to the control area (Cebeci et al., 2017).
Apart from micro-catchment water harvesting, it is stated that water
harvested from roof, balcony, terrace and impermeable surfaces can be
purified from pollutants and used as clean water sources. It has been stated
that there is a culture of water harvesting in our country that dates back to
ancient times (Selimoğlu and Yamaçlı, 2022). In this context, it is worth noting
presence of cisterns, wells, water canals, aqueducts and dams. Especially
cisterns and wells, which are situated almost all over Anatolia, reflect the
sensitivity of Turkish community towards water storage. There has been a great
change in the population of Türkiye throughout history, which increased water
preservation practices. Due to climate change, studies in Türkiye focusing on
water are becoming increasingly important. With the ‘Planned Areas Zoning
Regulation’ published by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization in 2021,
it became compulsory to treat rainwater collected from roof surfaces if needed,
accumulate it in a tank, and reuse it for flushing toilets. Additionally, the report
titled “Application of Grey Water and Rainwater Harvesting Systems” published
by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization presents steps and a roadmap
related to this issue. The report states that the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry of the Republic of Türkiye has been conducting studies on rainwater
harvesting, grey water usage, and water pricing within the scope of the “Climate
Change Adaptation Project in Water Resources”, and that 30 metropolitan
municipalities are included in this project. The “Rainwater Harvesting” project
initiated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Turkey) in the Büyük Menderes Basin
aims to develop a sustainable model for efficient water use.
Rainwater harvesting method has been utilized since 2015 in Istanbul
Technical University, Ayazağa Campus, and the water collected from the
impermeable surfaces on the roadway is directed to biological canals, and
reintroduced into the ecosystem in a cleaner manner. In Panorama 1326 Bursa

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