Selection of Dam Sites for Rainwater Harvesting in Western Desert of Iraq: A Case Study in Wadi Al-Mohammadi Basin

Abstract

The biggest problem that people face in their lives is the water crisis, especially in developing countries. It is considered an obstacle to people's survival and the continuation of agriculture, livestock, and so on. The establishment of lakes behind the suggested dams is one of the possible solutions to deal with this problem and remediate it. Wadi Al-Mohammadi is one of the main valleys that flow in Western Desert and flow into Euphrates River. It is considered an important area, because of its many characteristics, including its relatively large area, and the amount of water drained through. Using ArcGIS to process all the data used with Spatial Analyst Supplemental tools to estimate the storage capacity for each reservoir. Six factors are considered when determining the location of the barrier or dam. The site of Dam 1 is the best-selected site with a suitable index of 97.5. It is followed in the second degree by the site of Dam 5 and then the site of Dam 2 with a suitable index of 95 and 90, respectively. Hence it falls under the category of highly suitable. Dam 3 site falls within the modestly suitable category. Finally, the sites of Dam 4 could not be established, because they had a suitability index of less than 70. The analysis shows that the suggested lakes in Wadi Al-Mohammadi basin have good storage capacity with the possibility of utilizing them to prevent the risk of floods, storing water in drought seasons, irrigation capabilities, and take advantage of them as tourist areas.