Groundwater Flow Model of the Quaternary Aquifer: Water Resources Management Study in El Khatatba Area, Egypt

Abstract

El Khatatba is regarded as one of the most important agricultural reclamation areas in North West Cairo, Egypt. For human activity and agricultural growth, the Quaternary aquifer's groundwater serves as a major source. The Quaternary aquifer, however, was poorly managed in the study region, which caused salinization of the groundwater in the wells and a decline in groundwater levels in several of the wells. The primary goal of the current study is to develop a numerical mathematical model that will describe the current hydrological conditions in the region and forecast the hydrological environment in 10 years. The data obtained show that the values of hydraulic conductivity vary from 0.5 m/day to 25 m/day, the values of transmissivity coefficient vary between 200 m2/day and 1800 m2/day, the values of specific yield vary from 0.10 to 0.15, and the values of diffusivity coefficient vary between 1000 m2/day to 14000 m2/day. The present model estimates that the amount of extracted groundwater reaches 97 million cubic meters. According to the water budget, groundwater storage will decrease by up to 75 million cubic metres in the hydrological year 2019. Nearly 34 million cubic metres of water seep from El Rayyah El Nasiri into the local Quaternary aquifer. Through the passage of steep faults, there is a leakage of around 12 million cubic metres from the Quaternary aquifer in the study region to Wadi El Natrun. Through the ten-year water level prediction map, groundwater levels in the studied area decrease and increase. This reflects good management's effectiveness in reducing the groundwater aquifer's deficit. Therefore, the second scenario prefers managing the aquifer. Furthermore, recommendations not to drill additional wells are considered necessary, along with the need to activate the salt transport model to avoid deterioration in groundwater quality in this aquifer and maintain it.