Methods of harvesting rainwater and floods for the main basins in the Basiyah district and their importance in sustainable development

Abstract

Climate change has a major impact on the deterioration of the ecosystem in the western plateau of Iraq, especially in the southwestern part of it, due to the increasing population and their need for water and the severe pressure on water resources with the difficulty of exploiting them sometimes due to the high cost and to preserve the deep groundwater reserves. Rainwater harvesting techniques have received a great deal of attention, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. As a result of the fluctuation of rainfall, it is a great incentive to expand the field of water harvesting, as we notice that rain falls heavily for short periods, causing valleys and ravines to flow, and a large part of it is lost through evaporation due to the length of the valleys and the lack of some water harvesting techniques along those valleys. Therefore, it is necessary to benefit from the Salibat Depression, which is a prominent geomorphological phenomenon in the southern western plateau region, as its length reached (38.29) km and its width (17.76) km, while its area reached (680.03 km2), and it is located astronomically between the latitudes 30.30° - 30.50° north and between the longitudes 45.55° - 46.10° east, while administratively the depression is located in the Basiyah district affiliated with the Salman district within the Muthanna Governorate. A group of main basins in the region flow into it, including (Al-Ash'ali, Al-Kaseer, Al-Rumaitha, Al-Khail, Abu Ghuwair, Al-Sudair, Abu Cave. )