Assessment of the water of the general estuary project for irrigation purposes through the study of the physical and chemical properties of the water and river deposits in the city of Nasiriyah and their comparison with the global determinants

The study involved collecting samples from five stations located on the main river mouth to study their physical and chemical characteristics in order to assess their suitability for irrigation compared to international irrigation standards. Temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, and concentrations of calcium, magnesium, bicarbonates, chloride, nitrates, sulfates, phosphates, sodium, potassium, and lithium were measured. The results were as follows: temperature ranged from 32-33°C, pH ranged from 7.4-8.3, electrical conductivity ranged from 2620-2930µS/cm, total dissolved solids ranged from 1620-1990mg/L, calcium ranged from 460-577mg/L, magnesium ranged from 210-273mg/L, bicarbonates ranged from 214-238mg/L, chloride ranged from 629-688mg/L, nitrates ranged from 15-36mg/L, sulfates ranged from 187-260mg/L, phosphates ranged from 0.2-0.6mg/L, sodium ranged from 398-510mg/L, potassium ranged from 184-230mg/L, and lithium ranged from 3.2-6.4mg/L, respectively. The content was evaluated for salinity risk, sodium risk, bicarbonate risk, chloride toxicity, and boron toxicity. The results indicated a high salinity risk and sodium risk in those waters. The study also included an analysis of some physical and chemical characteristics of river sediments. These characteristics were studied at five selected sites northeast of the city of Nasiriyah, chosen based on the likelihood of pollution. The studied characteristics included electrical conductivity, pH, total alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate, nitrate, sulfate, sodium, and potassium. The pH values recorded were slightly alkaline, ranging from 7.7 to 8.9. The highest increase in electrical conductivity values was observed in 1938 microsiemens/cm, while the lowest decrease was 1460 microsiemens/cm. The total alkalinity values ranged from a minimum of 182 mg/L to a maximum of 340 mg/L. Regarding calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate, nitrate, sulfate, sodium, and potassium, their values in river sediments ranged between (172-340), (108-175), (102-34), (6.2 – 9.1), (14-55), (99- 170), (50-133), (40- 86) mg/L, respectively.