In schools development of a framework for the water efficiency sustainability index to analyze and monitor water efficiency

Changing climate conditions and increasing water demand make water efficiency a necessity in urban water management. This is especially important for high-consumption users such as schools. The sustainability of water efficiency activities should be monitored for high-consumption users. This study aims to develop a water efficiency sustainability index framework to monitor and evaluate the current implementation levels of water efficiency activities in schools. For this purpose, a total of 123 sub-components has been defined under the sub-sustainability indices of Education and Capacity Development (ECG-Index) (47 sub-components), Water Consumption Analysis and Monitoring (STA Index) (50 sub-components), and Inspection, Control and Maintenance (DKB Index) (26 sub-components). In this context, an evaluation system with a scoring structure between 1 and 5 has been proposed to first assess the current level of water efficiency practices in schools. The evaluation system was implemented based on on-site inspections conducted at a total of 35 schools. Overall, the components of education and capacity building, as well as water consumption analysis and monitoring, are inadequate in the pilot schools. However, the components under Audit, Control, and Maintenance are generally above average. It was observed that awareness, information, education, and event organization activities related to water efficiency are at an insufficient level, especially in schools. The water efficiency assessment system proposed in this study should be implemented in schools annually. This evaluation system will make significant contributions to identifying weaknesses in water efficiency in schools, monitoring the improvement of these weaknesses over time, and assessing the impact of activities on water efficiency. In the second phase of the study, a methodology for calculating the water efficiency sustainability index in schools was developed. For this purpose, the weights of the sub-sustainability indices, main activity and evaluation components were calculated using multi-criteria decision-making methods (Best Worst, Entropy, FUCOM). According to the BWM method, the weights of the EKG, DKB, and STA sub-sustainability indices were obtained as 0.394, 0.307, and 0.299, respectively. The water efficiency index framework was implemented in a total of 35 schools. Based on field data, scores were obtained for each component, and the water efficiency sustainability index was calculated by considering the weights. The proposed framework for monitoring water efficiency in schools, the hierarchical calculation methodology within this framework, the evaluation of water efficiency according to comprehensive components, and the calculation of the monitoring index based on weighted scores strengthen the originality of the study. This framework is expected to make significant contributions to monitoring water efficiency in schools. Keywords: Water efficiency, water efficiency in schools, water efficiency assessment system, water efficiency sustainability index, multi-criteria decision making