Groundwater: Extraction versus recharge; vulnerability assessment

• Main Authors: Eman Ragab Nofal, Akram Mohamed Fekry, Mostafa Helmy Ahmed, Mohamed Mostafa El-Kharakany
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2018-10-01
• Series: Water Science
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110492918300043

The rising demands of groundwater for agricultural, due to the non-reliability of surface water sources have placed groundwater resource under serious pressure subjecting it to depletion and quality deterioration risks. Since, The Nile Delta aquifer is one of the most important renewable groundwater reservoirs in Egypt; it stands as the second source of water after the Nile, especially in the Nile Delta region. The Nile Delta aquifer is continuously recharged by irrigation water and through seepage from surface water. Moreover the Nile Delta aquifer is vulnerable to saltwater intrusion resulting from increasing groundwater abstraction. A 3D regional model for the Nile Delta aquifer system has been constructed to be used as a water management tool for different water management scenarios. The model was used to test the sensitivity of the aquifer to different extraction and recharge rates and investigate the system response on heads and salinity of the aquifer. The results confirmed that sensitivity of the aquifer to the tested parameters differs from one place to another. Keywords: Water management, Groundwater, Groundwater vulnerability, Groundwater modeling, SEAWAT, Egypt