Affiliation(s)
1.Groundwater Directorate of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, NE46001, Iraq
2. Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources and Engineering, Division of Mining and Geotechnical Engineering, Lulea University of Technology, Lulea 971 87, Sweden
3. Department of Geology, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, NE46001, Iraq
4. Komar University of Science and Technology, Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan Region,46001,Iraq
ABSTRACT
Groundwater aquifer in the HSB (Halabja and Saidsadiq Basin)is considered
being one of the most important aquifers in terms of water supplying in
Kurdistan Region, NE of Iraq. The growing of economics, irrigation and
agricultural activities inside the basin makes it of the main essentials to the
region. Therefore, pollution of groundwater is of specific worry as groundwater
resources are the principal source of water for drinking, agriculture,
irrigation and industrial activities. Thus, the best and practical arrangement
is to keep the pollution of groundwater through. The current study aims at the evaluation of the vulnerability of groundwater
aquifers of the study area. Two models were applied, to be specific VLDA and
COP to develop maps of groundwater vulnerability for contamination. The VLDA
model classified the area into four classes of vulnerability with each covered
area: low (2%), moderate (44%), high (53%) and very high (1%). While four
vulnerability classes were accomplished dependent on COP model including very
low, low, moderate and high vulnerability classes with coverage areas of 1%,
37%, 2% and 60% respectively. To confirm the suitability of each map for
assessment of groundwater vulnerability in the area, it required to be
validated of the theoretical sympathetic of current hydrogeological conditions.
In this study, groundwater age evaluated utilizing tritium isotopes
investigation and applied it to
validate the vulnerability results. Based on this validation, the outcome
exhibits that the vulnerability classes acquired utilizing VLDA model are more
predictable contrasted with the COP model.
KEYWORDS
Vulnerability, VLDA,
COP, HSB.
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