Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Hand Washing Process and Water Consumption

World Health Organization suggested many ways to protect from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), such as maintaining a safe distance from others, wearing a mask, avoiding touching eyes, nose, or mouth, staying at home, cleaning/washing hands often, and using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. Thus, water and alcohol-based handwashing were frequently used since the pandemic. Therefore, this research aimed to compare the amount of water used before and during COVID-19. Similarly, using the alcohol-based cleaning will be evaluated during the COVID-19 and before that. Several questions were prepared and sent to the participants using technology. This study found that the number of handwashing and the duration of the washing hand increased by 85.34% and 101.92% respectively, which means water used for handwashing was doubled after the spread of the coronavirus. Correspondingly, clean and sanitizers like gel and alcohol were used more as well

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS TOWARD ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ

Environmental problems can be the public’s concern, and they also feel the ratio of dangerousness. Consequently, collecting their opinions and trying to get to know the way of their thinking regarding their envi�ronmental problem and solving them was an attractive case study for the authors of this article. In this research, the authors found the public’s opinion and attitude regarding environmental situations and issues in Kurdistan Region-Iraq throughout a public questionnaire/survey. Around 450 people randomly participated from various geographical locations/cities of the region proportioned to the population rate regarding different demography, gender, age, and academic background. The statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program was used to analyze their opinion. Also, the cross-tabulation method was used to understand the relationship between two or more variables. Gender, age, and educational background had effects on the participants’ attitudes toward environmental issues. Females, aged from 20 to 30, and Ph.D. degree holders were paying more attention to the environment. Geographically, the participation ratio for the Sulaimani, Erbil, Duhok, Halabja, and Kirkuk Provinces was 28.48 %, 21.95 %, 17.61%, 16.69%, and 15.00 %, respectively. High and low participation levels of the contributors are a reflection of the environmental awareness of the contributors, providing environmental facilities for the people, background, and culture of the community, and stability of political, economical, and social issues of the areas. Furthermore, COVID-19 affected the environment, and commonly it had a positive impact on the environment

Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic Quarantine on Civil Engineers’ Performance and Projects’ Construction Delay

The COVID-19 pandemic quarantine affected several sectors and human activities, among them projects of construction and engineers’ performance. This study aimed to investigate how civil engineers dealt with quarantine conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected their work. The research was conducted in Sulaymaniyah City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, via an online questionnaire for those who work at the site and offices. Data were collected in December 2020 from 150 engineers using Google Forms. Apart from demographics, questions were asked about the effect of COVID-19 on office engineers, the long-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on civil engineering and project construction, and construction delays. Results revealed that engineers working in the field had a greater ability to create social distance in their workplace. Moreover, compared to the government sector and office engineers, more field engineers working in the private sector believed that they might lose their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic totally influenced on project construction delays and civil engineers’ performance. One-third of those interviewed think that “teleworking” can be completely replaced by working in an office or field

Assessment Of Water Supply System: A Questioner Study

A universal water supply system was the subject of numerous studies in an effort to help designers create more reliable systems for long-term operation. These efforts also target the convenience of the systems in use in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as well as the optimization of the region's entire construction distribution networks. This research aims to find out how people think about the quality, quantity, and problems with the water distribution systems (in Sulaimani City). The data was collected through a questionnaire by asking people various questions, and their opinions about the water distribution systems in the region, as well as the convenience of the systems used (continuous or intermittent) to deliver water. For accessing water in the intermittent water distribution system, around 44%, 28%, and 3% of the respondents have access to water once in three days, once in two days, and have no watering schedule for accessing water, respectively. During the week, the water is distributed in a continuous system. As it’s obvious from the duration of water distribution, in most of the intermittent water distribution systems, 56.2% of respondents have 2–3 hours of access to water. According to the frequency of water availability, approximately 25% and 7.5% have access to water for only one hour and less than one hour, respectively. Respondents with continuous systems don’t have any major problems with the drinking water's odor, taste, or color. Results show that 72% of them accept the provided water as safe, and the breakdown of the water pipelines is confirmed by all

GIS Visualization of Solid Waste Disposal Sites and Environmental Impacts in Kurdistan Region-Iraq

The increase in the quantity of municipal solid waste (MSW) has made environmental problems in the Kurdistan Region (KR)-Iraq. Current study illustrated components and generation rates (GR) of MSW in seven different cities of KR. Geographic information system (GIS) was applied to locate MSW disposal sites, components, and generation rate in the cities. The study reported the maximum GR for MSW in Sulaymaniyah City which was 1.20 Kg/Capita/day and the minimum GR for domestic solid waste in Erbil City was 0.65 Kg/Capita/day. In-addition, the amount of organic waste component (OWC) in Erbil, Halabja, Sulaymaniyah, Semel, Duhok, Qaladize, and Ranya Cities were 79.34 %, 58 %, 65 %, 65 %, 79 %, 75.1 %, and 67.05 %, respectively. The average GR and OWC were calculated to be 0.972 Kg/Capita/day and 71.91%, respectively. Consequently, all MSW disposal sites had great impact to the surrounding areas resulting in air, water, and soil contamination

Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Awareness, Risk Level, Hand Washing, and Water Consumption for Hospital Staff in Sulaimaniyah City of Iraq

Covid-19 impacted several sectors such as economic, political, social, sports and art activities etc. On the other hand, it influenced handwashing times, awareness, and risk levels for the hospital staff in Sulaimaniyah City. In this study, the effects of Covid-19 on awareness, risk level, and hand cleaning have been focused on by hospital staff in Sulaimaniyah City hospitals. A qualitative method using an electronic questionnaire was applied for data collection. The total number of participants was 404 hospital staff. The percentage ratio of female employees is higher than males in the health sector in the Sulaimaniyah Hospitals. Awareness by the hospital staff has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants aged more than 55 years were more at risk because of their age, and females more than 55 years had the most threat. Covid-19 impacted the increasing rate of washing hands by 38% and using materials for cleaning hands by 46% for the hospital staff in Sulaimaniyah City. The average grand total change percentage was 41%. Water consumption increased by 135% in the Sulaimaniyah Hospitals throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, fewer working hours in the hospitals led to a high-water consumption ratio among the employees in the hospitals

The Effect of the El Nino Southern Oscillation on Precipitation Extremes in the Hindu Kush Mountains Range

The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is devastating as it negatively impacts global climatic conditions, which can cause extreme events, including floods and droughts, which are harmful to the region’s economy. Pakistan is also considered one of the climate change hotspot regions in the world. Therefore, the present study investigates the effect of the ENSO on extreme precipitation events across the Upper Indus Basin. We examined the connections between 11 extreme precipitation indices (EPIs) and two ENSO indicators, the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI). This analysis covers both annual and seasonal scales and spans the period from 1971 to 2019. Statistical tests (i.e., Mann–Kendall (MK) and Innovative Trend Analysis (ITA)) were used to observe the variations in the EPIs. The results revealed that the number of Consecutive Dry Days (CDDs) is increasing more than Consecutive Wet Days (CWDs); overall, the EPIs exhibited increasing trends, except for the Rx1 (max. 1-day precipitation) and Rx5 (max. 5-day precipitation) indices. The ENSO indicator ONI is a temperature-related ENSO index. The results further showed that the CDD value has a significant positive correlation with the SOI for most of the UIB (Upper Indus Basin) region, whereas for the CWD value, high elevated stations gave a positive relationship. A significant negative relationship was observed for the lower portion of the UIB. The Rx1 and Rx5 indices were observed to have a negative relationship with the SOI, indicating that El Nino causes heavy rainfall. The R95p (very wet days) and R99p (extreme wet days) indices were observed to have significant negative trends in most of the UIB. In contrast, high elevated stations depicted a significant positive relationship that indicates they are affected by La Nina conditions. The PRCPTOT index exhibited a negative relationship with the SOI, revealing that the El Nino phase causes wet conditions in the UIB. The ONI gave a significant positive relationship for the UIB region, reinforcing the idea that both indices exhibit more precipitation during El Nino. The above observations imply that while policies are being developed to cope with climate change impacts, the effects of the ENSO should also be considered

Physical modeling of the effect of shape, blockage, and flow variability on scour in culvert outlets.

The widespread use of culverts has prompted researchers to focus on developing precise designs to prevent their failure caused by scouring at the culvert outlet. This study employed physical modelling to investigate alternation in culvert outlets under different conditions, including variations in culvert shape, blockage, and flow discharge during steady and unsteady flow conditions. Box and circular culverts were examined with 0%, 15%, and 30% blockage rates at the culvert inlet. For unsteady flow conditions, two hydrographs were generated, each with nine distinct flow discharges, while for steady flow conditions, flow rates of up to 14 l/s and 22 l/s were used. The sediment and flow conditions were carefully selected to ensure clear water throughout the experiments. According to the study results, the scour profile exhibited more growth in the circular culvert compared to the box culvert across all cases. Furthermore, an increase in flow rate led to an increase in the scour hole dimension, and the scouring increased with a rise in hydrograph stepwise. However, when the degree of blockage was increased, a strictly proportional increase in scour depth was not observed across all cases. The results and data presented in this research can be used by other researchers in addition to being used by hydraulic designers

Spatio-temporal variations of groundwater quality index using geostatistical methods and GIS

Abstract A groundwater quality map serves as a deterrent mechanism that provides insight into likely environmental health predicaments. The objective of this study was to create map and evaluate the quality and changes in groundwater during the study period in Erbil, Iraq. Based on the 13 groundwater parameters, the water quality index (WQI) was calculated for 61 wells from 2015 to 2017 for wet and dry seasons. To generate WQI maps, two geostatistical analyst tools in Geographical Information Systems, including Kriging and Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) were used. For determining the most suitable method, statistical indices were applied to the obtained data. The results showed that the Kriging method increases the prediction accuracy compared to the IDW method. The water quality in 2017 was decreased compared to the previous years and the WQI was increased from 1.64% to 11.47%. Untreated domestic and industrial wastewater causes groundwater pollution which was the main reason for the decrease in the water quality of Erbil city