Modeling Spatial Distribution of Some Contamination within the Lower Reaches of Diyala River Using IDW Interpolation

The aim of this research was to simulate the water quality along the lower course of the Diyala River using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques. For this purpose, the samples were taken at 24 sites along the study area. The parameters: total dissolved solids (T.D.S), total suspended solids (T.S.S), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and manganese (Mn) were considered. Water samples were collected on a monthly basis for a duration of five years. The adopted analyzing approach was tested by calculating the mean absolute error (MAE) and the correlation coefficient (R) between observed water samples and predicted results. The result showed a percentage error less than 10% and significant correlation at R > 89% for all pollutant indicators. It was concluded that the accuracy of the applied model to simulate the river pollutants can decrease the number of monitoring station to 50%. Additionally, a distribution map for the concentrations’ results indicated that many of the major pollution indicators did not satisfy the river water quality standards.