Hydrogeological study of Khan Al-Baghdadi area in Anbar governorate - West of Iraq

Abstract

The scarcity of available surface water resources at the present time as well as the deterioration of its quality and coincided with the expansion of the agricultural area and reclamation of new land to meet the growing demand for food as a result of high rates of population growth , all these reasons gave the priority attitude towards water exploitation from hydrogeological Groundwater basins in order to exploit this natural resource optimally to ensure the possibility of restoration and maintain the strategic storage of these resources and control the quality and prevent contamination of these basins. Khan al-Baghdadi area is located to the west of the Euphrates River between the Haditha and Heet cities within Anbar province, and to the south of Haditha Dam reservoir. The results of hydraulic parameters of Khan al-Baghdadi groundwater basin obtained by pumping test showed that rate of Transmissivity was (34.3 m2 / day) and (963.7 m2 / day) while storage coefficient ranged between (1.8 * 10-4) and (3.5 * 10-2) in two wells drilled for this aim respectively. The groundwater levels in confined aquifers in the western part of the studied area was deep with high piezometric pressure and rang in decreasing of these depths and pressures towards the east where the ground water trends was generally from the west to the east side. The ground water salinity distribution as essential hydrochemical properties gradual increased eastward and north-east in the Northern District of the area. Generally the origin of ground water was marine and sulphate type. The ground water utilization can be used for agriculture purposes although high concentrations of salinity.