'Rainwater' harvesting as a tool for drought

Water levels at dams fell to critical levels in Turkey who is experiencing one of the driest winters in the last 10 years. While Izmir has its share of drought, despite the rains that have occurred consecutively in the last few days, full supply level in Tahtalı Dam decreased to 39 percent, Alaçatı Kutlu Aktaş Dam to 41 percent, Güzelhisar Dam to 47 percent and Gördes Dam to 3.50 percent. The average precipitation, which was 47.4 mm in November 2019, is measured as 8.2 mm in last November in the Aegean Region. Asst. Prof. Aslı Bor Türkben, Faculty of Engineering, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), said, “We should expand "rainwater" harvesting method in our country. In this way, rainwater collected on the roofs of buildings can be stored with aquifers or water tanks and can even be used for garden irrigation, domestic use via purification, and even indoor heating. Also, we should avoid using phrases as 'cheaper than water' in daily life and show water as insignificant.”   

Asst. Prof. Aslı Bor Türkben from IUE Department of Civil Engineering, who conducts scientific research on water, provided statistics about the decrease in the amount of rainfall, and listed recommendations on saving water.

PRECIPITATION DECREASED BY 83 PERCENT

Türkben said, “Countries, who have an average of less than 1,000 cubic meters of renewable fresh water per person per year, are considered 'water scarce' countries. Turkey is not among the water-scarce countries. However, some scenarios predict that we may experience water shortage in the next 20-30 years like many countries due to global warming. Decline in annual precipitation data reveals risk of drought. According to the data by the Turkish State Meteorological Service, average precipitation in the Aegean Region in November 2020 is 8.2 mm. The average precipitation in November of 2019 is 47.4 mm. When we look at the November averages, the expected amount of precipitation should be 79.2 mm. There is 90 percent decrease compared to normal value and 83 percent decrease compared to last year's November in precipitation.”

WATER MANAGEMENT AND BASIN ACTION PLAN

Türkben continued as follows: “ 'Water management' approach should be established for arid or drought-prone regions, by handling the problem as a whole. Focus should be on many issues such as controlling domestic and industrial wastewater, erosion control and afforestation, use of irrigation water in a balanced manner, and population planning. ‘Basin action plans’ should be created in terms of protection and sustainability of natural resources. Land use pattern directly affects the quality and quantity of water in the basins. Many factors such as fires, establishment of residential areas on unsuitable lands cause uncontrolled change of land use. Therefore, afforestation should be given importance and policies for combating erosion should be established. Uncontrolled discharge of domestic and industrial wastes should be prevented, and they should be connected to wastewater treatment facilities.”

71 PERCENT AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION

Noting that agricultural irrigation with 71 percent, is the largest share in terms of water use in Turkey, Türkben said, “It is a fact that the old type flood irrigation method consumes a lot of water. Farmers should be directed to new types of irrigation systems. Controlled agricultural policies should be adopted in the basin and 'water footprint' training should be provided to farmers. Effective use of irrigation water should be taught, the use of pesticides should be prevented and, if necessary, farmers should be directed to products with low irrigation water needs. Animal husbandry activities and population development should be kept under control. All activities in the basin should be monitored along with the water quality.”

WATER TREATMENT BECAME A NECESSITY

Stating that the "rainwater harvesting", being implemented in many regions of Turkey, needs to be expanded, Türkben said, “By rainwater harvesting, the rainwater collected on the roofs of buildings can be stored with aquifers or water tanks and can even be used for garden irrigation, domestic use via purification, and even indoor heating. Considering that future years will be dry, I think that the importance, of accumulating and storing water underground, will increase. Trainings to raise water awareness should start in kindergarten. Treatment and reuse of water is now a must. Treating water for reuse is accepted worldwide, to solve water scarcity problems. Using wastewater instead of clean water, especially in industry, not only saves water but also reduces the overall cost of operating the plant.”

START SAVING BY DOING THESE

Providing information about the measures that can be taken individually, Türkben said, “40-60 percent water savings can be achieved by using a low flow shower head when taking a bath. Considering that we spend 75 liters of water on average for every 5 minutes we spend in the shower, even getting out of the shower 1 minute early is a great savings on a yearly basis. If a person shaves without turning off the water for 3 minutes each day, he consumes 10 tons of water per year. If we brush teeth twice a day without turning off the water for one minute, 8 tons of water per year will be consumed. We must keep the faucet turned off when washing our hands, shaving or brushing our teeth. 9 tons of water can be saved per year by running the washing machine one less time a week. Wiping the dishes with a napkin instead of pre-washing also saves water before putting them in the dishwasher. not in running water, but; 20 tons of water is saved annually for a family of If vegetables and fruits are washed in a bowl of water instead of running water.”