Numerical Modelling of Groundwater Flow and Contamination Transport (TDS) in Kaniqurzala Area- Central Basin – Erbil City- Kurdistan - Iraq

Abstract

Modeling groundwater is an effective method for predicting the hydrological characteristics of an aquifer and estimating the influence of pollution transport in groundwater. The objective of this study is to analyze groundwater flow and contaminant transport (TDS) over 50 years in the Kaniqurzhala region - Erbil City using GMS (Groundwater Modeling System) version 10.6. In April and May of 2022, the static water table for 27 wells was measured in a 60.80 km2 research area. A sample of landfill leachate, considered a point source of pollution in the research region, is collected. The dimensions of the model domain's 80 columns and 76 rows are (100m x 100m). The MODFLOW, MODPATH, and MT3DMS codes are utilized for modeling groundwater flow and pollution transfer. There was a strong connection between the measuring head and the estimated head, and the model's coefficient of determination was R2 = 0.9935. After calibration, the hydraulic conductivity values for layers 1, 2, and 3 are (3.647222 x10-6 m/s, 2.8935 x10-9 m/s, and 3.24074 x10-6 m/s, respectively). TDS concentrations travel upstream and downstream of landfills and pollute many wells in the research region.

Keywords

• Modeling; Contamination; Landfill leachate, GMS, TDS