Abstract
Safe drinking water is among the most important environmental as well as health challenges facing Egypt. Groundwater from the aquifer of the Nile valley in Upper Egypt accounts for about 40% of the overall source of drinking water. Nearly, all rural residents rely on groundwater as the source of drinking water. Irrigation water is the main source of groundwater recharge in Nile Valley. Moreover, nitrate fertilizer utilization in Egypt has risen significantly due to the requirement for further agricultural production. Nitrate levels higher than the permissible limit (45 mg/L) for drinking water have been related to health issues. To determine the effect of agrochemical nitrate on the health of pumping water, municipal water wellfields established in Upper Egypt have been examined. Pumped water from those municipal wells (60 m depth and 2000 m3/day gross pumping rate) was evaluated from 2000 to 2018 to accomplish this objective. Monthly analysis of the quality of groundwater, in particular nitrate, has been conducted. Sulfate and nitrate concentrations as well as other consistency metrics were assessed. Water sampling findings show that the water already comes under the drinking-water limits. Nevertheless, increased nitrate and sulfate values are found beyond naturally existing levels in the aquifer. Consequently, to determine the possible future likelihood of nitrate contamination in such municipal wells, the trendline of nitrate level has been used. The observations suggest that the intensive utilization of nitrogen fertilizer in Upper Egypt in the last 30 years would endanger the quality of the groundwater supply. Resultantly, the usage of nitrogen fertilizers in Upper Egypt must be regulated and continuous groundwater monitoring must be implemented.
Highlights
Drinking water requirement is expanding in Egypt because of the rapidly growing population rate and development practices
The measured values of those selected specific parameters, in general, are less than the permissible limits for drinking water according to the Egyptian Standards
A wellfield in Upper Egypt used as a potable water supply was investigated for longterm groundwater monitoring in the Nile Valley aquifer
Summary
Drinking water requirement is expanding in Egypt because of the rapidly growing population rate and development practices. The River Nile and Nile aquifers, which provide approximately 60% and 40% collectively, are the two crucial forms of water supply [1]. In Egypt, people in rural areas rely entirely on groundwater as the source of their water supply. The aquifer is constantly recharged in the Nile Valley, primarily by infiltrating water from the irrigated fields and irrigation water from the irrigation waterways. Agrochemicals have progressively been used to supply crops with vital nutrients for improved productivity. Potassium (K), sulfur (S), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the main nutrients in the specific sequence of absorption by plants [1,2,3]
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