The main object of this research is to assess the water quality of Shatt Al-Arab River and its suitability for various purposes near power plants (Hartha and Najibia) through physical and chemical analysis [temperature, pH, EC

Efficiency of water use in irrigation field always motivates researchers to find a way which could reduce irrigation quantity and obtain approximately the same crop yields. This study estimated the relationship between the paucity irrigation with the reduction in yield for eight crops (cotton, maize, alfalfa, small grain, summer vegetable, sesame, sunflower, and palms) by using various paucity irrigation stages from evapotranspiration of crops (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25%) as an indication of all crop outgrowth using medium soil. This study selected the project of Al-Hussainiyah irrigation that lies in Karbala province, which is close to Baghdad relative to the South. Also, the project has high importance because most dwellers have used the province for agriculture and drinking purposes. These are reasons of choosing it as a case study to implement paucity irrigation strategy on most crops (eight crops) within the project. The necessary records related to this study were obtained from specialized offices in Iraq, particularly water resources and agriculture ministries. Computer programs such as CROPWAT version 8.0, statistical program SPSS statistics version 20, and table curve 2D version 5.0 are considered the software for solving this model. This model was tested for its application and sensitivity by changing paucity levels for each crop. The comparison between the available and the estimated water demand showed that the paucity in irrigation water demand was very clear during the period from February to December for the average present state of agriculture. The correlation analysis gives a result that the paucity irrigation level with yield reduction manifested that the yield reduction rate of maize recorded higher than the other crops, while cotton recorded lower yield reduction rate than the other crops during all paucity stages.

Safwan-Zubair area is regarded as one of theimportant agricultural areas in Basrah province, South of Iraq.The aim of this study is to predict groundwater level in this areausing ANNs model. The data required for building the ANNmodel are generated using MODFLOW model (V.5.3).MODFLOW model was calibrated based on field measurementsof groundwater level in13 monitoring wells during a period ofone year (Nov./2013 to Oct/2014). The neural network toolboxavailable in MATLAB version 7.1 (2010B) was used to developthe ANN models. Three layers feed-forward network with Log-sigmoid transfer function was used. The networks were trainedusing Levenberg-Marquardt back-propagation algorithm. TheANN modes are divided into two groups, each of four models.The input data of the first group include hydraulic heads, while,the input data of the second group include hydraulic heads andrecharge rates. Based on results of this study it was found that;the best ANN model for predicting groundwater levels in thestudy area is obtained when the input data includes hydraulicheads and recharge rates of two successive months preceding thetarget month, the best structure of ANN model is of three layersfeed-forward network type composes of two hidden layers, eachof ten nodes, and the including of recharge rates as input data,beside the hydraulic heads has improved slightly the results.

A new formula for determining the suspended sediment load in Khour Al-Zubair port has been proposed using dimensional analysis. Six cross-sections have been identified in Khour Al-Zubair port at Basrah province, South of Iraq for the purpose of conducting field measurements during the two tidal periods (Neap and Spring). The study involved taking field measurements of the hydraulic and fluid properties, and sediment sampling by section every 2 h to get effective parameters used for developing empirical formula. These parameters include the density of sediment (ρ s), mean velocity (V), hydraulic radius (R h), fall velocity of the particle (W s), median grain size (d 50), the salinity of water (S), water level (W L), the width of the estuary (B), specific gravity (G s), maximum flow depth (D max), and kinematics viscosity (ν). The formula was developed using the statistical analysis using the SPSS program and dimensional analysis method. A good agreement between the loads computed by the suggested formula and the observed data has been attained based on the correlation coefficient value (R = 0.97). The results showed that the average total suspended sediment loads by using the proposed formula is 1288285.464 tons/year.

In understanding the hydraulic characteristics of river system flow, the hydraulic simulation models are essential tools. This study submits the results of the proposition of a hydraulic model in order to determine the roughness coefficient (Manning’s coefficient n) of the Tigris River along 3.5 km within the Maysan Governorate, south of Iraq. HEC-RAS software was the simulation tool used in this study. The HEC-RAS model was adopted, calibrated, and validated in adopting two sets of observed water levels. Graphical and statistical approaches were used for model calibration and verification. Results from this investigation showed that a value of Manning’s coefficient of 0.025 gave an acceptable agreement between observed and simulated values of water levels.