The Impact of Human and Climatic Factors on Groundwater in Ain Al-Tamr District in Karbala City- Iraq

Abstract

This research focuses on groundwater in Ain Al-Tamr district in the western plateau of Iraq in Karbala Governorate, in addition to studying the characteristics of the geographical location, geological structure and the most important formations containing groundwater, in addition to mentioning the most important types of soils found in the study area, which is part of the Razzaza hydrological basin. The region depends mainly on groundwater, which is a major source for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. With the expansion of the population and cultivated lands, especially for wheat crops, which occupy an area of ​​126,465 dunums of cultivated areas in 2024, noting that it did not exceed 8,000 dunums in 2014, which caused great pressure on water, especially after the increase in drilling operations to reach the number of wells to 1,514 wells after it was 350 wells in 2014. The district faces a semi-arid climate that exposes it to high temperatures that affect evaporation rates more than the rates of feeding water stored in groundwater reservoirs. The depths of the wells vary from one place to another, ranging between (40-200) m, due to the terrain of the region and the inclination of the water reservoir layers from the west to the eastern sections. The region has also witnessed a noticeable decline over the past ten years, due to pumping operations by human activities. The hydrology of the system is represented by the high salinity of the water, which ranges between 2000 and 3000 mg/L, which is unfit for human consumption, but is used for irrigation and some industries. To analyze how various natural and human factors affect the decline in water levels, the initial data was analyzed using the multiple linear regression model. It was concluded that human activity, especially agricultural activity, had a greater impact than climatic conditions. Effective methods for managing water resources in the future were proposed, such as effective and modern techniques for irrigating crops and working to activate the sustainable development of groundwater by spreading awareness among citizens, to clarify the importance of groundwater for the district, as it is the only water source for the sustainability of the district and to encourage a policy of rationalizing water use for the benefit of the current generation and the rest of the generations in the future.