Non-Conventional Resources for Irrigation Water Demand in

Egypt

This presentation comprises four parts

1- Introduction

2- Egypt and Challenges

3- Water resources of Egypt

4- Conclusions and recommendations

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Introduction

In many arid and semi-arid countries water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource and planners are forced to consider any source of water which might be used economically and effectively to promote further development.

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Introduction

At the same time, with population expanding at a high rate, the need increased food production is apparent.

Irrigated agriculture occupies approximately 17 % the world’s total arable land but the production from this land comprises about 34 % of the world.

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Egypt is facing some challenges

* Population

* Shortage of water resources

* Climate Change

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Egypt receives almost of its

fresh water resources from

outside its national borders.

This is the main challenge

for water policy and decision

makers in the country as the

Nile River provides the

country with more than 95%

of its various water

requirements.

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The area of agricultural land in

Egypt is confined to the Nile

Valley and delta, with a few

oases and some arable land in

Sinai. The total cultivated area

is 7.2 million feddans,

representing only 3 % of the

total land area.

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An increased frequency of droughts and floods negatively

affects crop yields and livestock.

Sea-level rise, reduced recharge rates and higher evaporation

rates will extend areas of salinisation of groundwater and

estuaries, resulting in a decrease in freshwater availability.

This will affect crop yields and ultimately the type of crops

cultivated. Added to this, water sources used for irrigation are

likely to become more saline, and this will increase salt

concentrations of groundwater.

Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources for irrigation

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Climate Profile Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources for irrigation

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Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources for irrigation

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Water Resources of Egypt

Conventional Resources Non-Conventional Resources

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1- Nile River

Conventional Water Resources

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2- Groundwater These are: the Nile aquifer, the Nubian sandstone aquifer, the fissured carbonate aquifer,

the Moghra aquifer, the coastal aquifer, and the hard-rock aquifer.

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Classification of aquifer salinity in Egypt (Mariam G. Salim 2012)

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Figure 1. Mean annual rainfall map in Egypt

3- Rainfall

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NON-CONVENTIONAL WATER

WHY NON-CONVENTIONAL WATERS?

Egypt population is now exceeding 85 millions

Total water demand is steadily increasing

Agriculture consumes in excess of 80 % of available

water , and the fresh water balance is negative,

which means that we are steadily depleting our

resources

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In particular, reusing non-conventional water

resources is a win-win solution because it is possible to

solve two problems simultaneously: safe wastewater

disposal and more water to irrigation.

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Reuse of Agricultural Drainage Water for Irrigation

Salinization is major problem in Arid regions where large

quantities of saline irrigation are applied, and little rainfall is

available to dilute and leach the accumulating salts. A salinity

problem exists when the total quantity of soluble salts in the

crop root zone is high enough that yields are affected.

Official reuse: 6.86 billion m3 in 2008, 6.98 billion m3 in 2010 (8.7 billion m3 in 2017)

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Alsalam canal is designed to be fed from the Damietta Branch with drainage

water from lower Serw pumping station and Bahr Hadous drain near its outfall

New reclamation project using agriculture drainage water

Locations of drainage water reuse scattered in the Delta to mix the drain

water with fresh water from some irrigation canals.

Example of reuse agriculture water is

Waste water treatment project

Gabal el Asfar wastewater treatment plant

The projects location lies in the North Eastern side of Cairo in the Gabal el Asfar

farm, which was established in the late 1800s and has an area of about 1250 ha.

The plant was upgraded and extended to serve about 12 million people with a

capacity of about 3 million cubic meters per day.

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Rainwater harvesting in Matruh

Stormwater or rainwater harvesting are methods used in a lot of

regions. In Egypt, the uses of these methods are very rare due to

insufficient rainfall.

Harald Kehl. (2011, August)

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Two methods are used in

rainwater harvesting

Mamdouh Nasr, 1999

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Reuse of treated

Sewage water (1.4)

Reuse agriculture

Drainage water (16)

Grundwater

The Nile Valley

& Delta (6.2)

Non-conventional water

Resources (BCM/year)

Rainfall & Flash Flood (1.30) Groundwater in

Western desert (2)

Conventional water

Resources (BCM/year) Desalination (0.20)

Summary

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Water Demands

Egypt is experiencing water stress under the increasing demands on

water due to the population growth and rising standards of living.

Agriculture, drinking and industrial sectors are the highest water

consumers. Drinking water supplies and waste water treatment plants

have increased significantly in the last few decades. The percentage of

people receiving sanitary drinking water increased from 75% in 2006 to

88% in 2010, and current plans are to have 100% coverage.

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Conclusions

•Water shortage for irrigation

• Increasing Population

• Domestic demands

• Industry demands

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Recommendations

• Maintenance and Operation of Networks

• Use of modern irrigation systems (Sprinkler/Drip)

• Use of automation of the gate on the canal control structures

• Increase individual awareness

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REFERENCES

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- Allam, M. N. “Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities”

Water International, Volume 32, Nu mber 2, Pg. 205-218, June 2007

- Wagdt, A. “ PROGRESS IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: EGYPT”

Proceedings of the 1st Technical Meeting of Muslim Water Researchers Cooperation

(MUWAREC) December 2008 (Malaysia)

- Nour, M. M.“ Proposed Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the Ministry of

Water Resources & Irrigation in Egypt “ UNESCO-Cairo Office, 2013

-Khater, I. “Urban Water Cycles in Egypt” HafenCity University Resource

Efficiency in Architecture and Planning, 2011

-Water and Agriculture in Egypt Technical paper based on the Egypt-Australia-

ICARDA Workshop on On-farm Water-use EfficiencyJuly 2011, Cairo-Egypt

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Thank You!

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