Page 239 - Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi İngilizce - Özel Sayı

Güler Demir

Fetih Museum, the rainwater collected on the roof is stored, treated and
reused for the irrigation of green areas. In Diyarbakır Yenişehir Municipality
Ecological Building, the rainwater collected is used for garden irrigation and
sanitation. Likewise, rainwater harvesting is also practiced in Kocaeli Siemens
Gebze Facilities, Aşık Veysel Recreation Area in İzmir Municipality, a café in
Ordu Metropolitan Municipality and Gölbaşı Municipality. In a facility located
in Kocaeli Gebze Organized Industrial Zone, the rainwater falling on paved
roads is directed to the soil and filtered, and the permeability of the parking
lot was increased. In another case, water potential was determined through
the Rainwater Harvest analysis implemented by İzmir Kâtip Çelebi University.
The study collected data from the water meters installed in men’s and
women’s restrooms, and the harvest zone was calculated. As a result of the
study, it was concluded that the application of Rainwater Harvesting system in
public buildings will contribute to environmental and circular economy, thus
enabling more efficient use of drinking water resources (Hajtar et al., 2020).
Known as the first facility in Türkiye to receive a LEED Gold certificate,
Diyarbakır Solar House incorporates numerous water conservation
technologies within the framework of the “Green Building Concept.” In this
facility, rainwater collected from the roof is stored for use in fire sprinkler
systems and is also treated for indoor use. Additionally, thanks to this system
used in outdoor landscape irrigation, it has been determined that various
water-saving strategies inside the building achieve up to 50% water savings.
In the Diyarbakır Solar House, rainwater collected from the roofs is directed to
a water tank, and water obtained by treating domestic wastewater is used for
garden irrigation and toilet reservoirs.

4. Results and Discussion

Rainwater harvesting stands out as an important alternative to alleviate
the water crisis in arid and semi-arid regions. Thanks to the common and
applicable nature of this method, it can be used effectively in many areas
including agricultural production, afforestation efforts, landscape irrigation
and domestic use. When micro catchment water harvesting methods are
combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), more effective results
can be obtained in agricultural and afforestation activities by taking climate
and environmental factors into account.
For roof surface water harvesting is also considered an important alternative for
saving water in urban areas. Projects applied with success in developed countries
like Germany, Austria, England, Japan, India and the United States of America are
also worth noting for their contribution to water conservation and water budget.
In Türkiye, rainwater harvesting applications have become more common in

226 Journal of Environment, Urban and Climate