The great manmade river project: A partial solution to Libya's future water supply

Abstract

The southern part of Libya is a desert area of negligible population density overlying two of the largest ground‐water basins in the world: the Murzuk basin in the south‐west and Kufra‐Sarir basin in the south‐east. In situ utilization of these huge groundwater reserves is uneconomical due to poor soils and unsuitable climatic conditions. Extensive hydrogeological studies conducted during the last two decades have indicated the possibility of transferring over 6 million m3 per day to the coastal zones in the north. The Great Manmade River Project was launched in 1983 aiming at a rational utilization of the transported water for agricultural and urban developments, along with restoration of the affected aquifers. The project consists of five phases and is planned to be completed before the turn of the century. This article highlights the technical aspects of this major project in terms of water availability, water quality, future drawdowns, cost of water, well‐field design and other hydrogeological paramet...