Water resources management: case study of Sharkia governorate, Egypt

Y A Mohamed,M Rashad

doi:10.1007/s13201-012-0026-5

Abstract

Ministry of water resources and irrigation in Egypt is currently implementing projects that expand new cultivated area, and accordingly the supplies of Nile River to the Nile Delta will be negatively affected. So, Enormous interest toward water resources management has been taken in the Egyptian water sector. Conveyance infrastructure and irrigation technology has been gradually improved to ensure efficient distribution and utilization of scarce water resources. The present study is focused on the optimum utilization of water resources in Sharkia governorate, Egypt. Operational and planning distribution model is implemented on the selected case study (Sharkia governorate) to develop appropriate water plan. The gross revenue of all crops is correlated to surface water discharge, ground water discharge, surface water salinity, and ground water salinity. In addition, the effect of varying both surface and groundwater quantities and qualities on the gross revenue has been investigated. Moreover, the effect of limiting rice production on the gross revenue is allocated.

Highlights

Egypt is facing increasing water needs, demanded by a rapidly growing population, by increased urbanization, by Demand management was strengthened through improved irrigation techniques, drainage water reuse, groundwater development, and restrictions on water release from Lake Nasser for non-consumptive uses (Elarabawy et al 2000; Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) and USAID 2002; MWRI and World Bank 2003)
The gross revenue decreases as the surface water and groundwater salinities increase (Figs. 3 and 5)
The Operational and Planning Distribution Model (OPDM) is implemented on Sharkia governorate to show the effect of water resource management on the gross revenue

Summary

Introduction

Egypt is facing increasing water needs, demanded by a rapidly growing population, by increased urbanization, by. Demand management was strengthened through improved irrigation techniques, drainage water reuse, groundwater development, and restrictions on water release from Lake Nasser for non-consumptive uses (Elarabawy et al 2000; MWRI and USAID 2002; MWRI and World Bank 2003). Water scarcity is generally defined as the situation where there is insufficient water to satisfy normal requirements of the population. This means that water scarcity is a flexible term that depends on water use. The technique of Operational and Planning Distribution Model (OPDM) will be applied in Sharkia Governorate to correlate the gross revenue with the crop pattern of this zone. The effect of changing the quantities and percentage of salts of surface and ground water on the gross revenue is studied. The effect of reducing the cultivated rice area on the gross revenue is highlighted

Model description

Case study

Scenarios studied using OPDM model

Analysis of the results

Findings

Conclusions