Abstract
To understand the Iraqi water needs for different uses, it is important to study the quality of
the water parallel with the quantity. In this research, two national methods are adopted to
evaluate and judge the suitability of Tigris River (in Al-amarah region) for irrigation use. These
methods include the water quality index (WQI) of the Canadian and Bhargava. These indices
have been applied to assess the suitability of water for a variety of uses and reflects the status of
water quality in lakes, streams, rivers, and reservoirs. The concept of WQIs is based on a
comparison of the concentration of contaminants with the respective environmental standards.
Tigris River is one of the two main rivers passing through Iraqi land, the uses of its water are
different and its use for irrigation depends on many environmental parameters ( CL-1, Ca+2,
Mg+2, TDS, PH, EC, SO4-2 and SAR ). The researcher studied the quality of this river for
irrigation use during year 2011. Seven locations were been taken on the Tigris river in Alamarah
Region in Iraq. The main results showed that there is no difference between the two
techniques at significance level (0.01) and the quality of the river inter in Al-amarah Region
classified as GOOD and FAIR according to Bhargava and the Canadian method respectively.