Volume 25, Issue 2, 2024

Ground Water Formation Simulation and Systematic Analysis In Erbil, Iraq

Lubna Abdulwahid Abdulwahhab, Sepanta Naimi

> DOI: https://jeeng.net/issue/view/?id=92

Keywords

Groundwater, Upper Zab, Lesser Zab, MODFLOW, Tigris River

TOPICS

Abstract

A region's groundwater is regarded as a significant water resource that may support surface water for a variety of demands. The conductivity of the soil, the available recharges, and other characteristics all have an impact on how groundwater moves. The management of that water supply can be improved with greater use by comprehending its production and flow as well as by creating an effective map of the groundwater table over a specific area. The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, as well as the rivers that are connected to the Tigris River, are two of the main sources of groundwater in north Iraq. The streams of the Upper Zab and the Lesser Zab surround Erbil City. The study examined the groundwater stream to determine the direction and velocity of the streams that emerge from the two rivers as well as the impact of the city's location on the creation of aquifers over the city's and its surrounding territory. The study was based on 50 wells that were built over a sizable area inside the three main Erbil zone basins (the north, the middle, and the south basin). The average annual static heads that the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources recorded were gathered and positioned with numbers on the appropriate latitude and longitude magnitudes. The Darcy law was applied to determine the groundwater's flow directions into and out of the Erbil city region. In order to provide clearer information about the formation of the groundwater, the directional velocities, and the effects of each well on the nearby wells, the study supported the analysis by employing the MODFLOW program as a simulator workbench. The study demonstrated that the Lesser Zab Stream and water buildup in the high elevation zone in the east and north-east of the city are the sources of the main groundwater streams in the three basins. The streams follow the Tigris River's mainstream as they meander toward the west. A fraction of the groundwater streams in the north basin discharge into the Upper Zab during the recharge cycle