Faculty of Science

Arid and semi-arid regions present special challenges for water management. Streamflow variation in the upstream countries of the international river basins (River Nile basin), due climate changes or anthropogenic activities such as the ongoing construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is making management of water resources in the downstream countries (Egypt) difficult especially with increasing water demands. Groundwater (GW) and surface water (SW) are two interconnected components of one single resource, impacts on of these components will inevitably affect either the quantity or quality of one another, and that is the situation in the study area. Accordingly, not just SW availability will be affected, but also GW. A three-dimensional transient GW model is used to investigate the impacts of expected decreasing in SW supply due to natural (climate change) or artificial (GRED) changes and increasing GW extraction due to increasing population and agricultural development. This model helps to understand the interaction between the River Nile and the main SW canals and the Quaternary aquifer and to study the recharge possibilities of the aquifer as well as prediction of the aquifer behavior under different stresses in Minia Governorate, Egypt. Three scenarios with eleven probabilities were proposed for the prediction simulations and GW budget, levels and flow exchanges between SW and GW were also calculated on year 2050. The first scenario evaluates the impact of decreasing SW levels by 0.5, 1, and 1.5 m due to climate change or the (GRED), the second scenario studies the effect of increasing GW extraction by 25% and 50% from the extraction rate in the current situation due to agricultural development and increasing demand of GW in different uses. The third scenario examines the potential impact of climate change or the (GRED) and pumping scenarios on GW budget and levels in the Quaternary aquifer where it studies the effect of increasing GW extraction by 25% and 50% with decreasing SW levels by 0.5, 1 and 1.5 m on the aquifer. The maximum change in GW budget and levels was found in the third scenario in the case of increasing GW extraction by 50% and decreasing SW levels by 1.5 m in which ΔS of the aquifer will decrease to −712821.9 m 3 /day and GW levels will decrease to range from 23.31 to 43.07 m, respectively.

Groundwater is an important freshwater source for agricultural, drinking and industrial use in arid areas. The present study integrates geographic information system (GIS), hydrochemistry, and factor analysis to assess groundwater quality under expanding agricultural activities in Qena Governorate, Egypt. A total of 73 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids, major cations (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , K +), major anions (HCO 3-,Cl-, SO 4 2-, F-), and total hardness. The spatial distribution of these analyzed physico-chemical parameters was mapped with GIS. According to the World Health Organization and Egyptian water standards, the computed water quality index shows that about 62% of the groundwater wells are suitable for drinking. Groundwater suitability for irrigation was assessed on the basis of sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Kelley ratio (KR), magnesium hazard (MH). It is found that 99% of the wells are suitable for irrigation when considering the values of EC, and SAR only. However, only 50% of the wells are suitable for irrigation if Na + %, RSC, and KR are considered. Hydrochemical classification and factor analysis indicate that the groundwater is Na +-Cl-(58%) and MgCl (23%) dominant which signifies the role of evaporation under intensive irrigation and hot climate. Dissolution of evaporites loads the system with Na + and Cl-whereas return flow from irrigation transports solutes to groundwater. Increasing Mg 2+ is due to dolomitic dissolution and the use of fertilizers. Moreover, ionic exchange activities increase Na + concentration in the groundwater at the expense of Ca 2+ , but does not affect Mg 2+. The integration of traditional hydrochemical analysis and GIS with factor analysis is useful to understand the factors controlling groundwater chemistry and may aid decision makers toward effective groundwater quality management.

management include water conservation and the efficiency of water use; cost recovery, social and environmental factors. So continuous monitoring was essential to evaluate the reclamation impacts on the groundwater potentiality such as Esna Area. Remote sensing technique is considered powerful, accurate and saving time in this respect. This technique is widely used for illustrating and analysis different phenomenon such as the new development in the desert (land reclamation), residential development (new communities), urbanization, ……etc.

Groundwater in West of Sohag represents the second source for freshwater used for agricultural, domestic, and industrial purposes. The main objectives of this study are to assess the hydrochemistry characteristics of groundwater resources and evaluate it for different uses. This study is based on chemical analyses of 166 groundwater samples that were collected from the investigated area in 2014.The result of analysis has been used to evaluate the collected groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes by comparing those parameters with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Egyptian standards. 56% of the collected groundwater samples are suitable for drinking, and 44% are unsuitable due to their high levels of salinity (>1,000 ppm). Most of the collected groundwater samples of the studied area are unsuitable for domestic or industrial purposes due to the high level of hardness (84% hard to very hard). The quality of collected water for irrigation was evaluated using salinity hazard, US Salinity Laboratory diagram, sodium percent (Na %), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), magnesium hazard (MH), Kelly's ratio (KR), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), and potential salinity (PS). The majority of the collected groundwater samples are safe for irrigation based on salinity, SAR and US salinity diagram. About half of the collected samples are suitable for irrigation, while the other half is unsuitable based on Na %, RSC, KR, and PS. According to MH and SSP, most of the collected samples are unsuitable for agriculture under ordinary conditions.

The main aim of the present study is to detect the status of groundwater resources in west Mallawi area which represented one of the new reclamation lands. In order to achieve this aim, the hydrogeological and hydrogeochem-ical studies are carried out, based on the results of 21 pumping tests and chemical analysis of 29 water samples. Two water-bearing units are detected in the study area, namely, the Eocene fractured limestone aquifer which occupies the east portion of the studied area. The second aquifer consists of friable sediments of sand and gravel and may be related to the late Oligocene-early Miocene age and overlies the limestone rocks in the west, and this aquifer were studied for the first time in this work. Regionally, the groundwater flow in the area under study occurs toward the north and east directions. There is a hydraulic connection between both aquifers through the structural pattern affected the area. The partial recharge of the both aquifers takes place through the upward leakage from deep aquifers and the Nile water. There is a general decrease in the water salinity from west to east direction. The groundwater of both aquifers was evaluated for the different purposes and concluded that, it is considered suitable for different uses.

The present study aims to detect and evaluate the groundwater quality in Siwa Oasis using chemical and remote sensing data analysis. To carry out this goal, the data of Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) images have been used to discriminate the lithological rock units. ALOS radar remote sensing data with spatial resolution 12.5 m has been used to emphasize the predominant fault trends as well as detection of the buried structures. The chemical analysis of 39 groundwater samples was used to evaluate the suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes by comparing those parameters with World Health Organization standards. Seventy-seven percent of the collected water samples are unsuitable for drinking. About 82% of the studied water samples are unsuitable for the industry. According to salinity index, SAR, Na%, magnesium hazard and Kelley ratio, most of the collected groundwater samples are considered unsuitable for irrigation purposes. Water Environ. Res., 90, 465 (2018).

The major issues concerning water development and management include water conservation and the efficiency of water use; cost recovery, social and environmental factors. So continuous monitoring was essential to evaluate the reclamation impacts on the groundwater potentiality such as Esna Area, Luxor Governorate, Egypt. The main objective of this work is to determine the new development areas in Esna during the period from 1984 to 2011 using remote sensing technique, the impacts of the present and future development have been evaluated by using the two-dimensional numerical groundwater flow Simulation Package (visual modflow 4.2). The package was used to construct and calibrate a numerical model that can be used to simulate the response of the aquifer in the study area under implementing different management alternatives in the form of changes in piezometric levels and salinity. From land use maps of the study area for year 2011, it was observed a lot of changes in development areas especially on the border of the old land. The change in land reclaimed area was estimated with 44% in the period from year 1984 to 2011. This development accompanied with draw down about 2.5 meters through this period of time. The authors recommended applying different kinds of change detection technique on the study area. Compare between results, continuous monitoring of the development area is highly recommended.

The demand for freshwater supplies is progressively ascending owing to the increase of the population expansion and economic growth. Available water resources have been reduced by pollution and over-pumping. Groundwater modeling is a powerful tool for water resources management, groundwater protection, and remediation. The aim of this study is to develop a numerical groundwater flow model for the Quaternary aquifer in Samalut city, Minia Governorate, Egypt. The model is used to determine the hydrogeological conditions of the aquifer, the flow directions as well as calculating the rates of recharge and discharge between surface water and groundwater in the study area. Furthermore, scenarios were designed in the model to assess the response of the aquifer to increase the groundwater extraction in the future. The model was calibrated by trial and error; simulated results were compared to the observed head and contour maps, which were generally in good agreement. No typical steady-state condition is prevailed in the aquifer and groundwater flow directions are toward northeast direction. The River Nile acts as a drain in the study area, while El-Ibrahimiya Canal and Bahr Yusef act as a source of aquifer recharge. The proposed scenarios showed that surface water plays an important role in recharging the aquifer during increasing groundwater extraction. The results showed that the change in the aquifer storage will be decreased from + 48,125 m 3 /day in the current state (2013) to + 27,134 m 3 /day and − 869 m 3 /day when the groundwater extraction is increased by 25% and 50%, respectively.

Metal pollution may pose a high risk to the ecosystem stability. To evaluate the impact of the metal pollution on the biodiversity, metals concentrations in sediments, water, and molluscan shells were analyzed at sixteen sites in the Manzala lagoon, which is the largest in the Nile-Delta. The samples were collected along a gradient from the main agricultural drain, which brings mixed industrial, domestic, and agricultural wastes. An exponential trend of increasing metals concentration towards the main agricultural drain was observed. For sediment and faunal samples this trend was statistically significant in most cases, however, this trend was not found for all metals in water samples except for Zn. Partial Least Square (PLS) model confirmed that the distance to the drain is a second major predictor of the observed metal concentrations after sediment grain-size, while other physi-cochemical parameters have minor effects. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between most metals in the fauna and their respective sediments. In contrast, neither sediment nor faunal metal concentrations did correlate with water samples. Collectively, all pollution indices (enrichment factor, contamination factor, and geo-accumulation index) indicate high pollution by Cd and Pb and moderate pollution by Zn. UPGMA clustering and non-metric Multidimensional scaling (nMDS) classified the sites in the lagoon into three main categories: 1) highly polluted southeast corner around the drain, 2) moderately polluted northeastern corner, where the newly widened and deepened sea-outlet occur, 3) unpolluted northwestern part, which located away from the drain. Multiple regression analysis showed that the distance to the pollution source, salinity, and water depth are significantly predict the faunal diversity. Furthermore, the Pollution Load index (PLI) was significantly correlated with the diversity indices. Lower diversity and dominance of opportunistic taxa in the polluted sites are interpreted to be negative consequences of the metal pollution.

Few organisms can live in harsh transitional waters due to highly variable and rapid changeable physico-chemical conditions. Fortunately, connecting the community structure of such fauna to specific environmental parameters can be used in tracing past and recent environmental changes. Herein, we analyzed the benthic communities in the Manzala lagoon (Nile-Delta), a region very impacted by the construction of the High-Dam at Aswan, along the inshore-offshore gradient. Approx. 3000 specimens belonging to 31 species sampled in 54 sampling sites were identified. The environmental and biological data were subjected to multivariate data analyses. Hierarchical clustering and non-metric multidimensional scaling identified three biotopes along a gradient of water salinity and sediment grain-size. The epifaunal/infaunal ratio was negatively correlated with salinity (R2 =-0.72, p < 0.01). The low salinity-stations with a high content of silt and clay sediments were dominated by deposit-feeders, opportunistic gastropods. In contrast, the suspension-feeding bivalves dominated the more saline water and sand-sized sediments (R = 0.83, p < 0.001) near the Mediterranean outlets. The general low diversity and high dominance in the lagoon indicate high environmental stress and biodiversity loss as the background freshwater species have declined and only a few opportunistic taxa have flourished. In addition , a specific salinity-range was estimated at both species and community level. The results confirm that salinity and substrate type are major determinants for the structure of the molluscan community (feeding habit and life-mode) in marginal marine environments. Consequently, the feeding habit and life-mode of the mol-lusks, which have a continuous and very complete fossil record, can be used as a robust indicator for paleosa-linity and paleo-hydrodynamics.

An integrated remote sensing, isotopic and geophysical approach is adopted • Groundwater mounding in hyper-arid desert can indicate aquifer connectivity • Groundwater dynamics in the Saharan-Arabian desert are controlled by faults and fractures • Future orbital radar sounding mission can provide large-scale aquifer characterization for desert areas

Groundwater quality assessment is essential for the sustainable development of groundwater resources and for determining their use for domestic, irrigation, or industrial purposes. The objective of this study is to determine the hydrochemical characteristics and water quality of the groundwater aquifers in the area to the northwest of Assiut district, Egypt, and to map their spatial variations in terms of suitability for domestic and irrigation purposes. Two main aquifers are presented in the study area, the Pleistocene and the Eocene aquifers. Water samples were collected from 58 wells across the study area and analyzed to determine their physicochemical properties and calculate the water quality indices. The hydrochemical investigation shows that the domination of the major ions in the Pleistocene aquifer is in the following order:

Beni-Suef desert represents one of the interesting areas for land reclamation and future urban areas. This work aimed to assess the groundwater potentiality and suitability for different purposes by using the electrical resistivity and hydrochemistry studies. In the area of investigation, 32 vertical electrical soundings (VES) were implemented in order to determine the groundwater potentiality, as well as 42 samples of water were collected and analyzed. The suitability of gathered samples of water for irrigation was evaluated throughout: salinity index, sodium hazard (Na %), ratio of sodium adsorption (SAR), chloride hazards, soluble sodium percentage (SSP), magnesium ratio (MH), and other indicators. Results were represented in "Opportunity Map" by GIS layers, to denote major element distribution. Analysis indicated a presence of two potentiality zones in the study area that refer to Quaternary and Eocene aquifer. Results indicated that the east and north parts of the area of investigation have low groundwater potentiality for irrigation and domestic uses, whereas southern region has medium groundwater potentiality. On the other hand, all the gathered samples of groundwater are inappropriate for domestic use. Most of the studied groundwater samples can be used for irrigation according to SAR and US salinity chart, residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Kelly's ratio (KR), and permeability index. The prepared opportunity map reflects the evaluation of water potentiality in the study area.

Water contamination by mutagenic microchemicals is a worldwide
problem. To evaluate the overall water quality and identify the source(
s) of pollutants (B, Fe, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Cd, and Cr) in different
watercourses in middle-upper Egypt, we analyzed 66 surface water
samples collected from the significant waterways. In addition to
trace pollutants, 15 physicochemical parameters (pH, Temperature,
EC, alkalinity, DO, BOD, COD, Ca2þ, Mg2þ, Naþ, Kþ, HCO3
-, SO42-, Cl-
,
and NO3
-) were measured. Multivariate statistical approaches such as
exploratory principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis,
and correlation matrix analysis were applied to explore the
sources of the contaminants. Data reveal that surface water quality
in the investigated area is threatened by high concentrations of
trace elements, which are higher than the permissible limits recommended
by WHO guidelines and Egyptian standards for drinking
water and irrigation purposes. Statistical analyses suggest that surface
water contamination is the result of interference of natural (geogenic
related to rock–water interaction) and human (interrelated to
agrogenic and domestic sewage) inputs. The study will help decision-
makers to take appropriate actions for freshwater sustainable
management and protection. Moreover, surface water should be
treated before use for drinking purposes.

Due to the growing of population in Egypt during the last few decades, great changes in agricultural area, and urbanization of Egypt art occurred. In this study we utilized the available record of multitemporal Land sat Thematic Mapper (Tm) and Egypt sat image to produce land cover/land use map of the area between 1987 and 2009. Also we used the post-classification change detection analysis to detect the change in the agriculture, urban areas and the change in the River Nile during the period between 1987 and 2009. The post-classification change detection analysis shows that agriculture development increased by 1785.96 Hectare through the study period with average annual rate of land reclamation 81.18 Hectare/year. While the urban area increased by 2231.24 Hectare with average annual rate 101.42 Hectare/ year the increase of the urbanization and the growth occurring through encroachment into the farmer old cultivated lands. The change in the River Nile is not so much is reached to 138.32 Hectare in the study period with average annual rate 6.29 Hectare/year. The result of this study show that, the accuracy are quantify with the land cover changes and also delineate their spatial patterns, which display the efficiency of land sat in evaluating landscape dynamics over a particular time span. This data are very useful for natural resources management.