Fourth Scientific Symposium – 2011

Symposium Date: May 10, 2011

Preparatory Committee:

  • Asst. Prof. Salim Qasim Al‑Naqeeb — Chairperson
  • Dr. Adel Ali Bilal — Member
  • Dr. Nabeel Hameed Al‑Sayegh — Member
  • Dr. Qutaiba Tawfiq Al‑Yuzbakey — Member
  • Dr. Khalil Ibrahim Othman — Member
  • Mr. Thair Mahmood Al‑Taiee — Member
  • Mr. Ya’rub Ibrahim Suleiman — Member
  • Eng. Nidal Abdul‑Hadi Mohammed — Member

Scientific Session:

Theme: “Investment‑Oriented Research Topics for the Center”
Center Director Prof. Salim Qasim Al‑Naqeeb opened:

“As we mark our twenty‑fifth anniversary, we must channel our scientific and practical expertise toward projects that serve society—especially amid acute water scarcity and quality decline across the Middle East and the Arab world. Let us leverage our accumulated knowledge in aquifer exploration, water harvesting, and dam construction to propose priority studies that address urgent needs: potable‑water supply in arid areas of Nineveh, groundwater mapping, rainwater‑harvesting schemes, and more. These efforts, in partnership with public agencies and investors, will lay the foundation for strategic, needs‑driven research—and deliver real benefits to our communities.”

Session Recommendations:

  1. Reactivate and complete the Badush Dam project given its strategic importance.
  2. Construct the concrete cutoff wall at Mosul Dam, as repeatedly recommended in prior conferences and symposia.
  3. To combat desertification and preserve farmland, intensify sustainable groundwater use across Nineveh—conducting quantitative, qualitative, and spatial assessments of aquifers to guide municipal and agricultural water use; this effort requires dedicated government funding.
  4. Build small dams on seasonal wadis in western Nineveh—where flash floods occur—rather than large dams that face site, time, and cost constraints.
  5. Reevaluate the proposed series of small dams on the Tigris from Mosul downstream to Sherqat for water management and hydropower—leveraging existing preliminary studies within the Ministry of Water Resources.
  6. Strengthen University–state agency cooperation by:
    • Holding biannual meetings between relevant academic departments and beneficiary agencies.
    • Instituting targeted secondments of new researchers and faculty to government water‑resource bodies (for six‑ to twelve‑month practical training).
  7. Undertake joint geological, hydrogeological, and engineering studies (by the Ministry of Water Resources and the University of Mosul) of the traditional qanat (kariz) systems extending south of Mount Sinjar into the Jazira region—to assess, rehabilitate, and utilize them for drinking water and, potentially, agricultural and livestock watering—and explore constructing new qanats in the Jazira.