Abstract
Owing to the potential negative impacts of climatic changes and the grand Ethiopian renaissance dam, water scarcity has become an urgent issue. Therefore, the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has started a national project of the lining and rehabilitation of canals, to reduce seepage losses and for efficient water resource management. This study presents a new approach for assessing three different lining and crack techniques for the Ismailia canal, the largest end of the river Nile, Egypt. A 2-D steady state seep/w numerical model was developed for the Ismailia canal section, in the stretch at 28.00–49.00 km. The amount of seepage was significantly dependent on the hydraulic characteristics of the liner material. The extraction from aquifers via wells also had a considerable impact on the seepage rate from the unlined canals; however, a lesser effect was present in the case of lined canals. The concrete liner revealed the highest efficiency, followed by the geomembrane liner, and then the bentonite liner; with almost 99%, 96%, and 54%, respectively, without extraction, and decreasing by 4% for bentonite and geomembrane liners during extraction; however, the concrete lining efficiency did not change considerably. Nevertheless, the efficiency dramatically decreased to 25%, regardless of the lining technique, in the case of deterioration of the liner material. The double effect of both deterioration of the liner material and extraction from the aquifer showed a 16% efficiency, irrespective of the utilized lining technique.
Highlights
Arid and semi-arid regions such as Egypt have recently suffered from water scarcity, which is getting more severe due to global climate change [1] and the establishment of dams in the Blue Nile, such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) [2,3]
The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has started a national project of the rehabilitation and lining of earthen canals, because of the potential negative impacts of GERD and climate changes, in order to reduce seepage losses and have a more efficient water resource management
A two-dimensional seep/w numerical model was employed in this study to simulate a Ismailia canal section at the stretch 28.00–49.00 km, and to investigate the efficiency of three different lining techniques
Summary
Arid and semi-arid regions such as Egypt have recently suffered from water scarcity, which is getting more severe due to global climate change [1] and the establishment of dams in the Blue Nile, such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) [2,3]. Seepage losses from unlined irrigation canals are considered a significant reason for water losses, in addition to evaporation loss, and these losses reduce the conveyance efficiency [4]. Such is the case in the Ismailia canal, one of the most important canals in Egypt, with a total length of 129 km, and which sustains seepage losses throughout its entire length [5,6]. The seepage loss reaches more than 20% of the total discharge; losses of water through earthen conveyance canals must be reduced. Lining efficiency is greatly affected by the presence of cracks and the deterioration of lining materials [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
