The Impact of Climate Change on Water Quality and Consumption in the Tigris River Basin (Mosul-Baghdad)

Abstract

Iraq is one of a riparian country into the basin of Tigris River with (Turkey, Syria, and Iran). The region is currently facing water shortage problems due to climatic changes the rise of the demand on water. The meteorological data was used to estimate the water surplus and water deficit for the period (1990-2021), while the hydrological data was used to show the variation of the flow during the years due to climatic change on the Tigris River basin (2005-2021), and applying the SCS-CN method to estimate the surface runoff. The impact of climate change was estimated by calculating its effect on the physochemical characteristics in the river basin for the period (from January to December\2021) and compared it with standards specifications, in addition to comparing of amount of the water consumption in the Tigris River during the period (2017-2021). The results show a high ratio of water deficit in the downstream of the Tigris River basin due to decreasing the precipitation ratio in these areas. The Rainfall-Runoff-Depth was simulated using the SCS-CN method. The water quality parameters of Tigris River were within the standards of drinking water, except of TDS values at Tharthar-Tigris canal and Baghdad which exceeded the permissible limits. The results show an impact of climatic change on a Tigris River are different but it’s more effects in urban areas due to water consumption of the Tigris River.