Mapping Groundwater Risk Using Geographic Information Systems and QGIS Techniques of the Upper Al-Sanaf Marsh Sub Basin in Maysan, Southern Iraq

Abstract

It is possible to determine the risks through the existence of contaminated groundwater in some drinking wells. Most of the recent applied studies by groundwater scientists are the exposure of groundwater or aquifers to pollution, especially in areas that contain polluted groundwater due to human use of land. This work intends to produce a map to identify the areas of groundwater at risk. The groundwater risk map is dependent on applying the equation that exemplifies the combination of the map of vulnerability with the map of land uses and land covers using Geographical Information Systems (Version 10.4) and QGIS (Version 3.12) software. In addition, validation work for groundwater risk map with nitrate concentrations have been carried out. The results showed that the area risk map ranges from 117 to 218 (low, medium, high, and very high). The majority of up Al-Sanaf Marsh sub-basin are of low and medium risk, except for some southern, southeastern, northern, and eastern parts the groundwater is high and very high risk.