Optimum coverage of irrigation canals to minimize evaporation and maximize dissolved oxygen concentration: case study of Toshka, Egypt

Abstract

Water is the vein of life; therefore, preserving enough quantities and meeting standard water quality parameters are essential for good life. Egyptian government approved the New Valley Project in Toshka to help deal with the rapidly growing population of the country; 3 million of the population are to be relocated in Toshka. The New Valley Project entails building a series of canals; the main is Sheikh Zayed canal—to irrigate portions of the Western Desert of Egypt—so that people can work in cultivation—550,000 feddans—another aim is to increase the cultivated area land of Egypt. Toshka is an arid area with very high evaporation rate, about 3 billion m3/year. Researches showed that in the near future Egypt will face scarcity of water. So saving water from Sheikh Zayed canal by reducing evaporation will provide additional source of water to the area. This research aim is to estimate the effect of percentage canal area covering on evaporation rate from the main Zayed canal and also to simulate the dissolved oxygen (DO) in water as a result of covering. This is so because covering will alter the water quality parameters and DO is the main and most important water quality indicator for water and the living biota in it. It was found that full coverage calculated evaporation amount is about 9 million m3/year. Optimization is done and it was found to meet the standard DO levels in river where 50% of the canal’s area could be covered.