Assessment of Groundwater Quality in Rutba Area, Al-Anbar, Western Iraq

Abstract

The Rutba area is located within the arid region in the western desert of Iraq. Although no surface water is available in this area, the groundwater is considered the water source in the area. The aim of research is to investigate groundwater type and quality in the Rutba area using multivariate statistics approach. To evaluate the groundwater, fifteen groundwater samples were collected in the study region during the period of September 2019 and analyzed for essential anions and cations. The groundwater samples are considered to be fresh. Groundwater within the study region is dominated by calcium and sulphate ions refers to carbonate rock from the Mulussa Formation. The type of groundwater sample of the study region is earth alkaline water dominated by sulphate and chlorine and normal earth alkaline water with prevailing sulphate or chlorine except well no 3 which has been classified as alkalin water dominated by sulphate and chlorine. The correlation coefficient analyses of the groundwater samples show a strong correlation between Ca- Cl and Mg-Cl. The cluster Analysis is divided into four cluster of similar characteristics related to water quality. Principle components analysis shows high positive correlation between groundwater parameters and Factor 1. The Factor 1 reflects the role of the geogenic process like the dissolution of carbonate and dolomitic rocks prevalent in the study area.