Estimating Groundwater Balance in the Presence of Climate Change Impact: A Case Study of Semi-Arid Area

Nanekely, Mohammed; Al-Faraj, Furat; Scholz, Miklas

doi:10.21608/jbaar.2019.114536

Estimating Groundwater Balance in the Presence of Climate Change Impact: A Case Study of Semi-Arid Area

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ 1Civil Engineering Research Group, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, The University of Salford, UK The University of Salford,Newton Building, Salford M5 4WT, UK

² 1Civil Engineering Research Group, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, The University of Salford, UK The University of Salford,Newton Building, Salford M5 4WT, UK /School of Engineering, The University of Bolton; The University of Bolton, Bolton BL35AB, UK

³ Division of Water Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Sweden/ Department of Civil Engineering Science, School of Civil Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg

10.21608/jbaar.2019.114536

Abstract

The exploitation and management of groundwater in an integrated manner is gaining global interest. Rapid population growth is frequently linked to climate change. In order to meet the growing demand for public water supply and irrigation, especially in arid and semi-arid climate regions, groundwater is used excessively. This paper considers the Erbil province of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region as a representative case study for semi-arid climate areas where current practices of groundwater resource utilization lack a solid regulatory framework and where monitoring systems are often absent. The role of climate change in the assessment of aquifers is assessed. Long-term average recharge and extraction rates in relation to groundwater storage have been evaluated with the aim to avoid adverse long-term impacts on groundwater resources. A groundwater balance method has been used to quantify the storage of groundwater within aquifers. Results revealed that there is a considerable imbalance between the input (groundwater recharge) to the Erbil province aquifers and corresponding output (groundwater withdrawn). The reduction of losses in water use, increases in irrigation efficiency, raising of public good water-use practices, and the establishment of a regulatory framework to appropriately manage groundwater resources are outlined.

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