Rainwater harvesting (RWH) with application on Nineveh province, Iraq

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is an old technique experienced in several countries. Some of the earliest RWH constructions in history were found in Iraq.

RWH has been defined as: “The procedure of efficiently concentrating rainfall through runoff and storage of the water in different methods for valuable use”,

The Nineveh province is to be used as a case study in the work of water harvesting.

Nineveh province have an annual rainfall of 150-400 mm. This rain takes place during winter where summer agricultural activities suffer from water shortages. In addition, even during winter the rain is not uniformly distributed which cause irrigation problems. In such case, non-conventional water techniques are used to augment water for irrigation purposes. One of the easiest and most effective techniques in this area is water harvesting technique.

The amount of water which can be harvested is to be calculated and recommendations for where to execute the project are to be given. In addition data will be generated to provide decision makers the expected situation for the coming 10 years.

PhD student: Saleh Zakaria | Supervisors: Sven Knutsson, Nadhir Al-Ansari