Amr Fleifle

A simulation-based suitability index of the quality and quantity of agricultural drainage water for reuse in irrigation.

The suitability of agricultural drainage water (ADW) for reuse in irrigation was indexed based on a simulation of quality and quantity. The ADW reuse index (DWRI) has two components; the first one indicates the suitability of water quality (QLT) for reuse in irrigation based on the mixing ratio of ADW to canal irrigation water without violating the standards of using mixed water in irrigation, while the second indicates the available water quantity (QNT) based on the ratio of the available ADW to the required reuse discharge to meet the irrigation requirements alongside the drain. The QLT and QNT values ranged from 0 to ≥3 and from 0 to ≥0.40, respectively. Correspondingly, five classes from excellent to poor and from high scarcity to no scarcity were proposed to classify the QLT and QNT values, respectively. This approach was then applied to the Gharbia drain in the Nile Delta, Egypt, combined with QUAL2Kw simulations in the summer and winter of 2012. The QLT values along the drain ranged from 1.11 to 2.91 and 0.68 to 1.73 for summer and winter, respectively. Correspondingly, the QLT classes ranged from good to very good and from fair to good, respectively. In regard to QNT, values ranged from 0.10 to 0.62 and from 0.10 to 0.88 for summer and winter, respectively. Correspondingly, the QNT classes ranged from medium scarcity to no scarcity for both seasons. The demonstration of DWRI in the Gharbia drain suggests that the proposed index presents a simple tool for spatially evaluating the suitability of ADW for reuse in irrigation.

Simulation-Optimization Model for Intermediate Reuse of Agriculture Drainage Water in Egypt

AbstractThe scarcity of water resources in Egypt has triggered the need for using different types of low-quality water. Agricultural drainage water (ADW) is considered as a strategic reserve for coping with increasing fresh water demands. In this paper, an organized and general methodology for determining the optimum reuse discharges is presented. The physical properties of a drainage network are modeled by using a developed simulation water quality model. The genetic algorithm technique is used as an optimization tool for finding the optimum ADW reuse quantities at specific points of withdrawal. The simulation-optimization process was applied twice during the summer and winter seasons. The results show that the reuse quantities represent 75.50 and 87.12% of the available ADW in the study area for summer and winter, respectively, representing 40.57 and 43.52% of seasonal canal delivery. The use of the simulation-optimization model is suitable for decision support leading to near-optimum reuse selection of...

Spatio-temporal patterns of soil erosion and suspended sediment dynamics in the Mekong River Basin

Understanding of the distribution patterns of sediment erosion, concentration and transport in river basins is critically important as sediment plays a major role in river basin hydrophysical and ecological processes. In this study, we proposed an integrated framework for the assessment of sediment dynamics, including soil erosion (SE), suspended sediment load (SSL) and suspended sediment concentration (SSC), and applied this framework to the Mekong River Basin. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model was adopted with a geographic information system to assess SE and was coupled with a sediment accumulation and a routing scheme to simulate SSL. This framework also analyzed Landsat imagery captured between 1987 and 2000 together with ground observations to interpolate spatio-temporal patterns of SSC. The simulated SSL results from 1987 to 2000 showed the relative root mean square error of 41% and coefficient of determination (R(2)) of 0.89. The polynomial relationship of the near infrared exoatmospheric reflectance and the band 4 wavelength (760-900nm) to the observed SSC at 9 sites demonstrated the good agreement (overall relative RMSE=5.2%, R(2)=0.87). The result found that the severe SE occurs in the upper (China and Lao PDR) and lower (western part of Vietnam) regions. The SSC in the rainy season (June-November) showed increasing and decreasing trends longitudinally in the upper (China and Lao PDR) and lower regions (Cambodia), respectively, while the longitudinal profile of SSL showed a fluctuating trend along the river in the early rainy season. Overall, the results described the unique spatio-temporal patterns of SE, SSL and SSC in the Mekong River Basin. Thus, the proposed integrated framework is useful for elucidating complex process of sediment generation and transport in the land and river systems of large river basins.

Simulation-based optimization framework for reuse of agricultural drainage water in irrigation.

A simulation-based optimization framework for agricultural drainage water (ADW) reuse has been developed through the integration of a water quality model (QUAL2Kw) and a genetic algorithm. This framework was applied to the Gharbia drain in the Nile Delta, Egypt, in summer and winter 2012. First, the water quantity and quality of the drain was simulated using the QUAL2Kw model. Second, uncertainty analysis and sensitivity analysis based on Monte Carlo simulation were performed to assess QUAL2Kws performance and to identify the most critical variables for determination of water quality, respectively. Finally, a genetic algorithm was applied to maximize the total reuse quantity from seven reuse locations with the condition not to violate the standards for using mixed water in irrigation. The water quality simulations showed that organic matter concentrations are critical management variables in the Gharbia drain. The uncertainty analysis showed the reliability of QUAL2Kw to simulate water quality and quantity along the drain. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis showed that the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, total nitrogen and total phosphorous are highly sensitive to point source flow and quality. Additionally, the optimization results revealed that the reuse quantities of ADW can reach 36.3% and 40.4% of the available ADW in the drain during summer and winter, respectively. These quantities meet 30.8% and 29.1% of the drainage basin requirements for fresh irrigation water in the respective seasons.

Assessment of the performance of a down-flow hanging sponge system for treatment of agricultural drainage water

AbstractThe performance of down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) system for the treatment of agricultural drainage water has been investigated for six months. The reactor was operated at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2.0 h, sludge residence time of 88.5 d, and food to micro-organism ratio of 0.24 kg COD/kg MLVSS/d. The results obtained showed that the average total chemical oxygen demand (CODtot) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) concentrations measured in the final effluent of the system were 62.4 and 17.1 mg/l, respectively, corresponding to the overall removal efficiency of 73.1% for CODtot and 86.7% for BOD5. The reactor provided a final effluent containing a low concentration of 14.7 mg/l for total suspended solids (TSS). Moreover, 84% of ammonia–nitrogen was eliminated at organic loading rate (OLR) of 3.0 kg COD/m3 d. The calculated nitrification rate of the DHS system according to the nitrate and nitrite production amounted to 0.16 kg NH4–N/m3 d. Based on these results, the reactor achieved an ef...

Remediation of Agricultural Drainage Water for Sustainable Reuse

Water scarcity is among one of the most major problems in many countries around the world. Egypt is one of the countries facing great challenges due to its limited water resources, represented mainly by its fixed share of water from the Nile River, and its general aridity. The scarcity of water resources in Egypt has triggered the need for using different types of low quality water. Agricultural Drainage Water (ADW) is considered as a strategic reserve for coping with increasing freshwater demands. Traditionally, the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) has adopted different strategies aimed at increasing the use of ADW to confront the prevailing water scarcity. However, increasingly widespread pollution in the drainage system threatens these reuse strategies. Unfortunately, drainage networks in Egypt receive a large amount of untreated domestic and industrial wastewater. This chapter discusses the Egyptian water resources, and the ADW reuse activities in Egypt as a nonconventional water resource in Egypt.