Daily Sabah logo

Politics
Diplomacy Legislation War On Terror EU Affairs Elections News Analysis
TÜRKİYE
Istanbul Education Investigations Minorities Expat Corner Diaspora
World
Mid-East Europe Americas Asia Pacific Africa Syrian Crisis Islamophobia
Business
Automotive Economy Energy Finance Tourism Tech Defense Transportation News Analysis
Lifestyle
Health Environment Travel Food Fashion Science Religion History Feature Expat Corner
Arts
Cinema Music Events Portrait Reviews Performing Arts
Sports
Football Basketball Motorsports Tennis
Opinion
Columns Op-Ed Reader's Corner Editorial
PHOTO GALLERY
JOBS ABOUT US RSS PRIVACY CONTACT US
© Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2023

Daily Sabah logo

عربي
  • Politics
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • Elections
    • News Analysis
  • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Expat Corner
    • Diaspora
  • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • Islamophobia
  • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
  • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Reviews
    • Performing Arts
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
  • Gallery
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
  • TV
  • Turkey
  • Istanbul
  • Education
  • Investigations
  • Minorities
  • Expat Corner
  • Diaspora

Rain harvesting, gray water can solve Turkey's drought: Expert

by DAILY SABAH

ISTANBUL Jan 20, 2021 - 5:44 pm GMT+3
A water reservoir that stores rainwater harvested at Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ) in Istanbul, Turkey on Jan. 14, 2021. (AA Photo)
A water reservoir that stores rainwater harvested at Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ) in Istanbul, Turkey on Jan. 14, 2021. (AA Photo)
by DAILY SABAH Jan 20, 2021 5:44 pm
RECOMMENDED
The southwester earlier this morning in Istanbul, Türkiye, Feb. 2, 2023. (AA Photo)

Southwester hits Istanbul again, halting maritime traffic

southwester

The drought problem Turkey is facing across the majority of its provinces can be solved by implementing rain harvesting and gray water techniques, which will save up to 40% in water consumption, an expert said Wednesday.

After several years of recording rainfalls below seasonal averages, dozens of provinces across Turkey are facing water shortages, but it was the impending drought Istanbul faced that brought awareness to the issue.

After an exceptionally dry rainy season, the water levels in dams supplying the country’s most populous city fell to historically low levels, around 19%, and prompted many experts and authorities to come up with solutions in a rush.

While the rains and snowfall in Istanbul over the past week increased the water levels – to around 30% – in dams since then, the increasingly unpredictable weather patterns are slowly becoming unreliable for larger cities, especially for Istanbul, which hosts more than 16 million inhabitants.

And according to one expert, collecting rainwater and reused wastewater generated in households could be the key to solving the country’s drought problem.

“Water management and using water efficiently is something all of us need to learn. Even when we have an abundance of water, which is a difficult thing these days, we need to all be aware of potential droughts and avoid wasting water,” said Ayşe Gül Tanık to Anadolu Agency (AA), a professor of environmental engineering at Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ).

According to Tanık, the best hope in solving Istanbul’s drought problem lies in rainwater harvesting. It is a technique that mainly involves specially designed roofs to collect rain and direct the gathered water into some sort of storage for later use.

“The second option is instead of discharging wastewater into designated areas, we can filter it for reuse in certain areas. We also have a third option, for provinces near seas, which is desalinating seawater, but it can only be used as a last resort and can’t be used to supply the whole city,” Tanık said.

“But there is also another way, called gray water. Which is basically recycling wastewater generated by households with much simpler methods and using the resulting water in certain ways, like for flushing toilets. Right now, we are using water from our mains, which is at a drinkable quality level,” she said.

Explaining that the average rainfall across Turkey has fallen below 600 milliliters (20.2 ounces), Tanık said the use of gray water could save around 30% in water, while rainwater harvesting could add another 10%.

“We can harvest rainwater by using specially designed roofs on new buildings yet to be constructed. Airports, shopping malls, businesses, hospitals and schools are the most favorable buildings for this technique since they have a much larger roof area compared with your regular apartment building.”

According to Tanık, the collected rainwater is “naturally filtered,” and any rainwater harvesting system will recoup the initial costs in around two years.

“We can use the rainwater for anything, from cleaning the building itself to using it as flush water. In dry seasons, you can also use it on water sprinklers and irrigation.”

Tanık said the main reason rain harvesting hasn’t seen widespread adoption is that it is not profitable, and it would only benefit the equipped buildings themselves.

Therefore, local administrations haven’t shown much interest in it, Tanık said.

RECOMMENDED
The southwester earlier this morning in Istanbul, Türkiye, Feb. 2, 2023. (AA Photo)

Southwester hits Istanbul again, halting maritime traffic

southwester
  • shortlink copied
  • RELATED TOPICS
    fight-against-terrorism DEUTSCHE-BANK US-LIBYA-RELATIONS
    KEYWORDS
    water shortage drought rainwater harvesting gray water istanbul water supply
    The Daily Sabah Newsletter
    Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey, it’s region and the world.
    You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    For the European Union, Cyprus is an instrument to hold Türkiye politically hostage. (Erhan Yalvaç Illustration)

    How to create a united state in Cyprus?

    CYPRUS-ISSUE
    Türkiye's main battle tank Altay is seen in this file photo, Nov. 15, 2012. (Photo by Mesut Er)

    Türkiye inks $200M deal with S.Korean firm for parts of MBT Altay

    altay-tank

    Religion not included in NATO deal with Türkiye: Swedish FM

    TÜRKIYE-SWEDEN-RELATIONS

    Türkiye brands consulate closures 'psychological war'

    CONSULATES
    No Image
    Photoshoot of the cute kind: Lion cubs make debut in Australian Zoo
    PHOTOGALLERY
    • POLITICS
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • News Analysis
    • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Diaspora
    • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • İslamophobia
    • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
    • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Performing Arts
    • Reviews
    • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
    • Photo gallery
    • Jobs
    • privacy
    • about us
    • contact us
    • RSS
    © Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2021