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This work aims to evaluate water scarcity in Thi-Qar governorate, Iraq, based on GIS estimation, environmental data, climate-change effects, and detection of the changes in marshes over the last three decades (1991–2021). The methodology process included collecting and analysing the related data sets such as water quality indicators, surface water quantity, climatic data, and Landsat’s images. GIS-based data and spatial data were acquired from the USGS website. Arc GIS 10.4.1 software was used to create a hydrological analysis. The results showed that generally, in Iraq, the annual volume of water available per person is 1,390.95 m³/cap/year, which is lower than the threshold for water scarcity (1700 m³/cap/year). The average daily potable water per person in Thi-Qar governorate was 284 L/cap/day, lower than the general average daily potable water per person of Iraq (340 L/cap/day). Meanwhile, 6% of the months along 1998–2018 did not meet the water demands. Water quality tests exhibited some high amounts of pollutants in drinking water, e.g., biological pollution was recorded in 55% of the total number of annual samples. Landsat’s images illustrated a high variation in water areas of marshes over the selected period, whereas the highest marshes area was 1548.21 km² in 1991 compared to the lowest area, 65.45 km² found in 1999. To sum up, the research outcomes revealed that the study area faced a serious water scarcity, which had a negative impact on the local people. Also, this research offered a scientific view for the decision-makers to mitigate and manage the water scarcity problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iraq currently undergoing the problem of water shortage, although Iraq has two Rivers (Euphrates and Tigris) pass throughout most of its areas, and they have represented a major source of water supply. In the current research, to evaluate the quality of the Euphrates river in Iraq based on the values of total dissolved salts (TDS), the TDS concentrations were collected from sixteen sections along the river in the three succeeding years (2011, 2012, and 2013). The evaluation of the river was done depending on the classification of (W.H.O. (World Health Organization). (2003). Total Dissolved Salts in Drinking-water: Background document for development of W.H.O. Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland). of rivers for drinking uses. Inverse Distance Weighting Technique (IDWT) as a tool in the GIS was employed to establish the maps of the river that using interpolation/prediction for the TDS concentrations to each selected year and the average values of TDS for these 3 years. Based on the five categories of rivers' classification of the TDS concentrations according to the (W.H.O. (World Health Organization). (2003). Total Dissolved Salts in Drinking-water: Background document for development of W.H.O. Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland), the Euphrates river was classified, and the maps of classification for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 and the average values for 3 years were created. The average values for 3 years of TDS along the Euphrates river indicated that the sections from SC-1 to SC-4 as moderate-water-quality-Category-3, the sections from SC-5 to SC-10 as poor-water-quality-Category-4, while the sections between SC-11 to SC-16 as very poor-water-quality-Category-5. The interpolation maps showed that the Euphrates river in Iraq was ranged from moderate water quality (Category-3) to very poor water quality (Category-5). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of the hydrogeochemical characteristics and groundwater suitability for domestic use was conducted in the Halabja Saidsadiq Basin in the northeastern part of Iraq. The total studied area is about 1278 km2 with a specific Mediterranean-type continental interior climate, which is cold in winter and hot in summer. To conduct the required laboratory chemical analysis for groundwater samples in the studied basin, 78 groundwater samples, in total, were collected from 39 water wells in the dry and wet seasons in 2014 and analyzed for major cations and anions, and the results were compared with the permitted limits for drinking water. An examination of the chemical concentrations of the World Health Organization drinking water norms demonstrate that a large portion of the groundwater samples is suitable for drinking, and a preponderance of groundwater samples situated in the class of hard and very hard water types for both seasons. Suitability of groundwater for drinking use was additionally assessed according to the water quality index classification. This showed that more than 98% of groundwater samples have good water quality in the dry and wet seasons. Conversely, the classification of groundwater samples based on Piper's diagram designates that the groundwater type is alkaline water, with existing bicarbonate along with sulfate and chloride. However, water–rock exchange processes and groundwater flow have been responsible for the dominant water type of Ca–Mg–HCO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A well-known tool for assessing the quality of surface water is the water quality index (WQI) model. In this study, the WQI was generated to classify the water flowing in the Euphrates River in Qadisiyah Province. To develop analytical models, a connection between the findings and satellite images was developed. It is possible to determine what category a river’s water quality for domestic use will fall into. The Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WWQI), Canadian Water Quality Index (CWQI), and Bascarón Water Quality Index (BWQI) were used to evaluate and examine the suitability of the Euphrates River in the city by analysing the water quality of samples taken from the five locations (Muhanawia (L1), Salahia (L2), Shamiyah (L3), Shamiyah (L4), Gammas (L5)). The hydrogen ions pH, temperature T, dissolved oxygen DO, nitrate NO3, calcium Ca, magnesium Mg, total hardness TH, potassium K, sodium Na, sulfate SO4, chlorine Cl, total dissolved solids TDS, and electrical conductivity ECvalues are provided for 2020 and 2021. Results showed the Euphrates River was deemed severely contaminated at location Gammas (L5) but acceptable at location Muhanawia (L1). During the research phase, the water quality for the Euphrates achieved a maximum of 87.43 using the CWQI for Muhanawia (L1) in 2021 and a minimum of 15.6 using the BWQI for Gammas (L5) in 2021. The excessive sulphate, total dissolved solids, calcium, and total hardness concentrations led to the low WQI. The results are analysed using a GIS, and a network database connected to the GIS is required to utilize its analytical capabilities and the geographically scattered data throughout the study region. The Water Quality Index (WQI) is not suitable for drinking, as it is below the average of the World Health Organization (WHO) suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]