Geospatial analyis for the potential impacts of outfalls discharge on Kuwait

Abstract EN

The GIS technology is used in this study to analyze the water quality and determine the extent of pollution in Kuwait Bay using the collected data in 2014 during winter and summer months.

The analysis included five water quality parameters namely ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, TOC and chlorophyll concentration.

The IDW interpolation method proved to be helpful for better mapping of water quality.

Seasonal variations in concentrations of all water quality parameters were observed in this study.

Temperature plays an important role in such variations since the temperature of Kuwait bay reached an average value of 31.85ºC in July, while it reached an average of 14.22ºC in January.

For both seasons, the bays' water is highly polluted according to KEPA standards, while summer months being more critical than winter months.

The dissolved oxygen concentration in summer reached 4.0 mg/l while in winter is 6.8 mg/l.

The used technique proved to be very illustrative in determining spatial distribution and mapping of water quality parameters.