Evaluation of the quality of surface water in the Alwand River Basin and its suitability for various uses

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Geography, Faculty of Languages ​​and Humanities, Garmian University, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

2 Department of geography< College of Education , University of Garmian

3 Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research (KISSR)

doi.org/10.24271/garmian.22090407
Abstract
The research dealt with assessing the quality of surface water in the Alwand River Basin, located in the southeastern part of the Kurdistan Region and northeastern Iraq within the Garmian administration, located astronomically between two latitudes (34°29′0״-34°11′30״) north and longitudes (45°36′0״ - 45°9′0״) east, and its suitability for different uses, and the research focused on a very problem The importance is the extent to which the surface water in the Alwand River Basin is suitable for various human uses and the determination of the geographical components affecting the qualitative characteristics of water, as we find that with the growth of the population in light of the industrial, urban and agricultural development witnessed by the region, the demand for surface water suitable for different uses in the study area increased, Therefor, The aim of the research was to assess the quality of surface water in the Alwand River Basin and to indicate its suitability for various uses and to determine the geographical factors affecting it, and for purpose of achieving this, (22 samples ) of surface water were taken in different locations during the months (January and July) for the year (2022) , and the water was analyzed laboratory in order to compare its results with the Iraqi and international specifications that were developed to determine the quality of water used for different purposes. 
            The research reached a number of results, the most important of which is the difference in the qualitative characteristics of surface water spatially and temporally as a result of the influence of natural and human factors and their disparity between the winter and summer seasons, in addition, it became clear to us that the surface water in the Alwand River Basin is not suitable for human drinking due to the high values of most of the chemical and physical elements of water above the permissible limits Iraqi and international, while it is considered suitable for drinking animals and irrigation .The research concluded with a set of suggested recommendations drawn from the results of the research , the most important of which is the need to treat sewage water before discharging it to the Alwand River in order to preserve it from pollution and develop the water treatment process in water projects through daily raw water monitoring. And treated in accordance with the specifications of drinking water.

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