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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 9, No. 6
Publication Date: December 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/aivp.96.11118. Abdul-Razzak, M. I., & Al-Neif, A. A. (2021). The Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Groundwater in Karbala Governorate,
Iraq. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(6). 229-241.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
The Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Groundwater in
Karbala Governorate, Iraq
Mohammed Ibrahim Abdul-Razzak
Expert, Iraq
Ayser Abdul-Aziz Al-Neif
Senoir Chief Geologist, Iraq
ABSTRACT
Karbala governorate, however, neighborhood the western desert, which bounded
by longitudes (43° 09' 41" – 44° 18' 56") and latitudes (32° 10' 15" – 32° 50' 15")
with total area study of 4987 km2, represents part of sedimentary plain belongs to
the unstable shelf and Salman zone belongs to the stable shelf. The main geological
formations that exposed in the studied area represented by Al-Fatha Fn. (M.
Miocene), Injana Fn. (U. Miocene), Dibdiba Fn. (Pliocene – pliestocene) and
Quaternary Fn. (Pliestocene – Holocene). Two main underground reservoirs were
distinguished based on the sedimentary facies and (four water reservoirs) as well.
Quantitatively, the assessment was based on the climatic information (rainfall,
temperature and humidity) for (39 years) for the period (1980 - 2019), so, by using
Thornorite equation the water surplus was calculated representing the renewable
storage of the unconfined aquifer which amounted to (110.9 * 106 m3/year), while
the fixed storage for both systems (unconfined and confined) were calculated as
(7.68 * 109 m3) and (6.16 * 109 m3) respectively, with total equivalent to (13.84 * 109
m3). While qualitatively, the assessment was based on utilizing the data bank
information (151 wells) belongs to the general commission for ground water
(2013) in addition to some available field data. The results reveal that there some
wells are within the permissible limits to be used for drinking purposes, which can
be used for municipal after conducting biological tests on them, although they
should not be used for agriculture. In general, it can be said that most of the water
from the wells in the study area is suitable for agricultural use, with the exception
of small scattered areas.
Key ward: Water Resources Groundwater Assessment Karbala Governorate Iraq
INTRODUCTION
With increase in dry and semi-arid conditions that led to the emergence of a shortage of water
and to the increase the demand for it on the other hand, which led to the existence and
occurrence of shortages as a result of the pressure of the increase in the population at the
present time, so all countries of the world (especially the countries in the Arab region, which
suffers from a shortage of its water resources) seeks to increase and preserve its water
resources and search for different sources to obtain fresh water, including water extracted from
the ground by advanced means and techniques.
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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 9, Issue 6, December-2021
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Karbala Governorate is considered as one of the important areas in terms of religious, historical,
touristic and agricultural aspects, Fig 1. In addition to what is available from surface water in
the rivers running in the area and irrigation channels, the groundwater resources, on the other
hand, have been exploited in a large and main way for the purpose of planting many crops, in
addition to the abundance of palms in it, especially in the western and southwestern region of
the governorate, where the Shethatha district, which is famous for the cultivation of crops and
palms, and the large number of palms called it the Ain -Altamur. On the other hand, the district
is considered one of the very important tourist areas for the presence of historical springs in it,
but because of the exploitation of groundwater in this area in a large and random manner,
especially after drilling a fair number of flowing wells after 2003, which led to the depletion of
groundwater and thus to the drying up of many those springs that were running for many years
irrigate the orchards and areas located in the vicinity of the district and a few of them remained
with little drainage until 2015, which then led to a partial drying of the five large springs
namely, (Ain Al-Zarka Al-Kabeer, Al-Zarka Al-Saghira, Al-Hamra, Umm Al-Kawani and Ain Al
Seeb). The main objective of this study is Conducting a quantitative and qualitative assessment
of the groundwater in the study area.
Fig (1) location of the study area
GEOLOGY AND TECTONIC OF THE AREA
The main Geological formations revealed in the study area are belong to the Tertiary period
and Quaternary one, which represented by Al-Fatha, Injana and Dibdiba (Middle Miocene,
Upper Miocene and Pliocene-Pleistocene) respectively, while the Recent deposits are belongs
to the Pleistocene-Holocene. Karbala Governorate is located within two geological plates of a
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Abdul-Razzak, M. I., & Al-Neif, A. A. (2021). The Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Groundwater in Karbala Governorate, Iraq. European
Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(6). 229-241.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.96.11118
scale (1/250,000), Fig 2 shows the geology of study area. Tectonically, these plates are part of
the north-eastern part of the African-Arabian Platform which belongs to the Unstable Shelf.
Fig (2) geology of the study area
HYDROGEOLOGY
Among the most important characteristics on which the hydro-geological conditions depend
are the geological and structural nature, the type of the rock formations, the nature of the water- bearing rocks, so the presence of groundwater in the rocks and the layers bearing them will be
determined and depend on the aforementioned conditions. The study indicated that the
groundwater resides in two important aquifers, one of which belongs to the Tertiary period,
represented by the formations of Umm Al-Radhuma, Dammam and Injana, while the other to
the Quaternary age represented by the formations of the Pliestocene – Pliocene (Dibdiba) and
Recent Alluvium. These two aquifers differ from each other in the conditions of deposition, the
environment, the rock texture and the physical properties of the rocks containing them, as well
as their thickness, hydraulic and hydro-chemical properties. There are a number of springs that
spread in the western and southwestern parts of the Karbala plate - Shathatha area towards
northwest - southeast along the eastern edge of the desert, west of the Euphrates River, where
this area is known as the zone of springs. The presence of these springs is determined by the
presence of water-bearing aquifers represented by the Dammam and Umm Al-Radhuma
formations mainly within the areas of the Karbala-Shathatha plate in addition to the geological
and structural nature of the area. (Abdul-Razzaq et al. 2012) indicated that the number of
springs had reached, after being counted, (24) with varying drainage, but most of them were
dry while another part of them was filled in.
GROUNDWATER LEVEL AND MOVEMENT SYSTEM
The spongy nature of geological formations or containing voids and cracks of secondary
porosity allows them to keep water inside or pass through them. Thus, these water have energy
levels that represent saturated zones at different depths. The shape of these energy levels
depends, in general, on the porosity of the rocks, their permeability, the conditions of recharge