Sustainable Water Management Through Rainwater Harvesting: A Case Study at Samsun University Ballica Campus

Abstract

Today’s growing demand for water and the effects of climate change make it imperative to explore alternative water sources. In this context, rainwater harvesting is one of the leading methods in terms of both ecological sustainability and economic efficiency. This study aims to examine the potential for rainwater harvesting from the hangar structures located at the Ballıca Campus of Samsun University and to determine the storage strategy best suited to the campus dynamics. The roof area of a hangar selected as a sample in the study was considered, and the amount of rainwater that could be collected was calculated using the region’s annual precipitation data. The potential uses of the collected water, the annual savings it would provide, and the economic value of these savings in Turkish Lira were presented. In addition, a centralized storage system and a local storage system located around the hangars were comparatively evaluated based on 11 comprehensive sustainability and feasibility criteria. The results indicate that rainwater harvesting systems implemented on a campus scale can contribute to both the conservation of water resources and the reduction of costs, and that the selected infrastructure model must be optimized according to the campus’s physical conditions.