The Department of Ecology at the College of Science, University of Basra, organized a seminar on assessing the water quality of the central part of the Shatt al-Arab River using the Water Quality Index. The seminar, presented by Master's student Nuha Ali Mohsen, aimed to develop monitoring and evaluation tools for water resources to enhance aquatic environmental management of these resources. It also focused on using and updating the Shatt al-Arab Water Quality Index to assess the water quality of its central section and testing the sensitivity of the updated index and its consistency with the original index.

The seminar addressed identifying the natural and human-induced environmental factors that have the greatest impact on the river's ecosystem in the study area.

The study recommended adopting the updated Shatt al-Arab Water Quality Index, establishing permanent hydrological stations for the early detection of any environmental degradation, and creating specialized units for connecting and treating wastewater networks.