Page 186 - AJWEP-v22i2

Ali and Al-Hasnawi

recharge, whereas steep slopes speed up runoff engineers, and researchers aiming to improve water
and erosion. 34,45 In semi-arid areas of Ethiopia and security in arid and semi-arid regions might use this
North Africa, where impermeable surfaces decrease study as a decision-support tool by connecting scientific
penetration and exacerbate flash floods, urbanization hydrological models with practical water management
has also been linked to increased surface runoff, as applications. Future research should concentrate on
seen in the Haditha Basin. The work confirms earlier climate-driven impact assessments, hydrological model
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findings that hydrological modeling in dry locations validation, and multi-source data integration to create
with limited data requires RS and GIS approaches. more robust and adaptable water management plans.
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These parallels underline the necessity of terrain-based
water management techniques in dry regions around the 5.1. Specific policy suggestions for water
globe and support the findings’ generalizability outside management organization
of the Haditha Basin. The following suggestions are specifically designed
There are several principal contributions from for government organizations, legislators, and water
the findings of this paper. First, it provides scientific resource managers in charge of sustainable water
input for scholars and researchers. It shows how well governance in dry countries like Iraq to guarantee that
Sentinel-1 SAR and Sentinel-2 optical data may be the study’s conclusions immediately influence water
used for hydrological modeling in areas with limited management policies:
data. It also enhances knowledge of runoff patterns, (i) Improving erosion control and watershed
flow accumulation, and sub-basin hydrodynamics management. The intervention is proposed to the
by offering a high-resolution DEM-based flow study. Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water
The findings suggest incorporating ground-based Resources. According to the study, the northern
hydrological measurements for model validation basin’s steep slopes are a major cause of the
and draw attention to the shortcomings of DEM- Haditha Reservoir’s fast runoff and sedimentation.
based flow analysis. Secondly, the findings act as The policy intervention that could be implemented
policy-related results for decision-making and water is to reduce erosion and silt buildup in the reservoir
resource managers. It highlights the need for reservoir by putting soil conservation measures like check
optimization measures by identifying a water balance dams, afforestation, and terracing into practice.
shortfall (153 m /s input vs. 200 m /s outflow) and Moreover, infiltration could be improved, and
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large yearly evaporation losses (~1.2 billion m ). It water loss could be reduced from surface runoff by
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also supports evidence-based policy measures, such encouraging the regeneration of vegetation cover in
as those to manage watersheds to lessen sedimentation degraded regions. In addition, improving reservoir
and erosion in Haditha Reservoir, sustainable drainage performance can minimize water loss.
systems in urban development initiatives to reduce (ii) For Iraq’s water resources management authorities
the danger of flooding, and schemes for groundwater and dam operators. Significant evaporative losses
recharge that use human-made infiltration basins (~1.2 billion m yearly) and a water balance
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in areas with high permeability. It also supports the imbalance (inflow: 153 m /s, outflow: 200 m /s)
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integration of RS and GIS technology into national were discovered by the investigation. Hence,
water governance systems. to maximize water retention, it is suggested to
Furthermore, the results provide engineering and use dynamic reservoir operating plans based on
real-world uses for engineers, urban planners, and seasonal inflow trends and evaporation rates. To
hydrologists by offering ideas for flood reduction lower evaporation losses in the Haditha Dam, invest
according to topography, with a focus on controlled in artificial reservoir covers or floating solar panels.
water retention and slope management. The findings (iii) Policies for urban planning to reduce the risk of
also identify areas with significant runoff risk and flooding in which local governments and municipal
recommend using geospatial technologies to prepare planning authorities are the target audience.
for infrastructure resilience. In addition, it suggests According to the LULC research, impermeable
that higher-resolution elevation models be included surfaces and urban growth raise the danger of
to improve topographic accuracy in hydrological flooding and runoff. Hence, new urban projects
evaluations and encourages the creation of a national are suggested to have sustainable urban drainage
water monitoring system based on GIS to enable real- systems, such as rainwater collection systems,
time assessments of water resources. Policymakers, green roofs, and permeable pavements. In addition,

Volume 22 Issue 2 (2025) 180 doi: 10.36922/ajwep.8499