Evaluation of Ground Water Quality Status by using Water Quality Indices at Basheqa Region, Iraq

Abstract

Large areas of BASHEQA region haven't any source of surface water, at the same time, there are large quantities of olives trees and crops depend in its irrigating on Ground Water (GW) as a main source. So it is important to evaluate its (GW) for different uses. In this study the (GW) of 32 wells had been examined in the college of environmental science and technology laboratories to assess its Water Quality (WQ) for drinking, irrigation, and livestock purposes. Average twelve parameters (pH, Ca, Mg, Na, HCO3, SO4, Cl, NO3, EC, TDS, SAR, TH) data in the period 2008-2009 had been applied in three methods through computing Water Quality Indices (WQIS). The first method was the Weighted Average (WAV). The second one was that adopted by Ministry of Nature and Environment (MNE) of Mongolia, while the last one was the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). The (WQIs) of the three methods results had been compared to assess the suitability of the best one. Although the statistical analysis indicated that there are no significant differences between both (CCME) and (WAV) methods, the (WAV) data had been used in this study as it gave more restrictive control. The analysis of (WQIs) using (WAM) method indicated that (25, 69, 88)% of (GW) are good for drinking, irrigation, and livestock purposes respectively.

Keywords

• Water quality indices, Ground water, Basheqa region