Salt‐Water Intrusion in the Nile Delta

Abstract

Egypt is presently involved in a comprehensive program of land reclamation. Surface water has already been exhausted in meeting the urgent needs of agricultural expansion. If irrigation efficiency were increased, large amounts of surface water would be saved. However, this entails complex social, technical and political problems outside the scope of this paper. Ground‐water development has priority over increasing irrigation efficiency (which would take a longer time). This paper deals with identification of the intruded salt‐water wedge in the huge artesian Delta aquifer. The case is unique because most of this aquifer is invaded by salt water, and the major portion of its annual ground‐water recharge is derived from the direct seepage from the Nile River and the huge net of irrigation canals serving about 3 million acres (∼ 11,561 km2) of fertile land, as well as the infiltration of excess irrigation water. The annual overall ground‐water recharge to the aquifer was estimated as 6·40 km3/yr as explained later. Methods of salt‐water control and various techniques of water resources management are discussed in this paper. Because of the great variation in the depth of the aquifer, two unconventional methods for identifying the salt‐water wedge are also presented.

Incorporating the concept of equivalent freshwater head in successive horizontal simulations of seawater intrusion in the Nile Delta aquifer, Egypt

“…Apart from the two Nile branches (Rosetta and Damietta branches), the Delta area is dissected by extensive networks of canals and drains (Kashef, 1983). These water networks play an important role in relation to the groundwater flow regime and salinity.…”

“…It accounts for two thirds of Egypt's agriculture and represents the most fertile areas in Egypt (Kashef, 1983). The Nile Delta has its apex about 20 km north of Cairo (latitude 30°) and the length of its base at the Mediterranean Sea is about 245 km.…”

“…The annual overall groundwater recharge to the aquifer is estimated at 6.70 km 3 /year (Kashef, 1983;Mikhailova, 2001).…”

InSAR Study of Shoreline Change along the Damietta Promontory, Egypt

“…It also increases the salination of groundwater and incursion of salt water (e.g., El-Kashef, 1983), which damage the valuable agricultural land. Shoreline erosion along the Nile Delta is predicted to continue into the 21st century with severe environmental consequences (e.g., Stanley and Warne, 1993).…”

Intensively exploited Mediterranean aquifers: resilience to seawater intrusion and proximity to critical thresholds

“…The piezometric head field in the aquifer fluctuates mildly (±1 m) in an annual cycle (Kashef, 1983). A total volume of about 2.4 km 3 (Mikhailova, 2001) is extracted annually from the aquifer for all uses.…”