Assessment of Groundwater Potential in the Upper Tigris/Turkey Plain

Abstract

The Upper Tigris Basin lays in the part of the upper historic Mesopotamian Basin, where agricultural activities have been carried out since civilization has passed through settled life. Products such as grain and cotton are grown in this region providing resources not only for Turkey, but also for other Middle Eastern countries. In recent years, irrigation agriculture has started to get more value-added products. However, the national dam for irrigation projects has not yet been completed in this basin, and groundwater is mostly for irrigation. For this purpose, the determination of the basin’s groundwater potential is enormously significant for sustainable irrigation. In this study, groundwater potential of the basin was assessed by handling data of opened water wells. The study shows the groundwater potential is high in the southern, southeastern and eastern parts of the Basin. While the groundwater potential in the western and southwestern parts of the Basin is normal, it has been found to be low in the Northern part.