Evaluation water scarcity based on GIS estimation and climate-change effects: A case study of Thi-Qar Governorate, Iraq

This work aims to evaluate water scarcity in Thi-Qar governorate, Iraq, based on GIS estimation, environmental data, climate-change effects, and detection of the changes in marshes over the last three decades (1991-2021). The methodology process included collecting and analysing the related data sets such as water quality indicators, surface water quantity, climatic data, and Landsat's images. GIS-based data and spatial data were acquired from the USGS website. Arc GIS 10.4.1 software was used to create a hydrological analysis. The results showed that generally, in Iraq, the annual volume of water available per person is 1,390.95 m(3)/cap/year, which is lower than the threshold for water scarcity (1700 m(3)/cap/year). The average daily potable water per person in Thi-Qar governorate was 284 L/cap/day, lower than the general average daily potable water per person of Iraq (340 L/cap/day). Meanwhile, 6% of the months along 1998-2018 did not meet the water demands. Water quality tests exhibited some high amounts of pollutants in drinking water, e.g., biological pollution was recorded in 55% of the total number of annual samples. Landsat's images illustrated a high variation in water areas of marshes over the selected period, whereas the highest marshes area was 1548.21 km(2) in 1991 compared to the lowest area, 65.45 km(2) found in 1999. To sum up, the research outcomes revealed that the study area faced a serious water scarcity, which had a negative impact on the local people. Also, this research offered a scientific view for the decision-makers to mitigate and manage the water scarcity problem.