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 3
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. 4
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 7
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. 8
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. 9
Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources for irrigation 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. 10
Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources for irrigation Climate Profile 11
Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources for irrigation 12
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Water Resources of Egypt Conventional Resources Non-Conventional Resources 14
1- Nile River Conventional Water Resources 15
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. 16
17 Classification of aquifer salinity in Egypt (Mariam G. Salim 2012)
3- Rainfall 18 Figure 1. Mean annual rainfall map in Egypt
19 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 20
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. 21
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) 22
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 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
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. 24
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) 25
Two methods are used in rainwater harvesting Mamdouh Nasr, 1999 26
Summary Reuse agriculture Drainage water (16) Reuse of treated Sewage water (1.4) Conventional water Resources (BCM/year) Desalination (0.20) Grundwater The Nile Valley & Delta (6.2) Non-conventional water Resources (BCM/year) Groundwater in Western desert (2) Rainfall & Flash Flood (1.30) 27
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. 28
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Conclusions Water shortage for irrigation Increasing Population Domestic demands Industry demands 30
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 31
32 REFERENCES
- Allam, M. N. Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities Water International, Volume 32, Nu mber 2, Pg. 205-218, June 2007 -Khater, I. Urban Water Cycles in Egypt HafenCity University Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning, 2011 - Nour, M. M. Proposed Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the Ministry of Water Resources & Irrigation in Egypt UNESCO-Cairo Office, 2013 - Wagdt, A. PROGRESS IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: EGYPT Proceedings of the 1st Technical Meeting of Muslim Water Researchers Cooperation (MUWAREC) December 2008 (Malaysia) -Water and Agriculture in Egypt Technical paper based on the Egypt-Australia- ICARDA Workshop on On-farm Water-use EfficiencyJuly 2011, Cairo-Egypt 33
Thank You! 34