Mohamed Nasr Allam

Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities

Abstract Water is one of the most important inputs for economic development. As the demand increases, so too does the importance of water. This is clearly the case in Egypt, where rainfall is rare and the governmentally enforced quota for withdrawal from the Nile River has not changed since 1959. The water demand has multiplied as a result of population growth, agricultural expansion, as well as industrial development and a rise in the standard of living. In this paper, a vision for the future water status in Egypt is presented. This vision is based on a perception of the current status of the available water resources. The water uses, the water use efficiency, the institutional and legislative frameworks of water management, and the strategies and policies to rationalize water use and to augment water supply are discussed. The local, regional and international governing and controlling factors of water utilization and management in Egypt are also analyzed and discussed. Three future water scenarios for year 2020, each reflecting alternate programs to develop the water systems and to rationalize the water uses, are presented. All scenarios showed that Egypt will suffer considerable water shortages in the near future. Recommendations to help overcome anticipated water challenges and to optimize the available opportunities are provided.

A cost allocation approach for irrigation water in Upper Egypt

An approach for estimating irrigation water cost is presented and applied to Upper Egypt. Two cost models are used. The first model is to estimate the cost of irrigation water if controlled with a multi-purpose structure. The model is used in estimating the irrigation cost at the High Aswan Dam. The second model is to allocate the cost of irrigation structures and the cost of irrigation at the multi-purpose structures among the served areas. The two models are applied to estimate the cost of irrigation water at the different regions of Upper Egypt.

A physically-based flood volume distribution model

An analytically derived distribution model for flood volume is presented. The model is based on water balance computations during a rainstorm at the soil surface. It is applicable for mountainous watersheds with alluvial channels. Three hydrologic processes are considered: precipitation, infiltration, and runoff generation. Rainfall intensity and duration are presented with exponential distributions. They are assumed to be statistically independent. A linear rainfall-runoff relationship is proposed for the mountainous areas. The mountain runoff is regarded as a uniformly distributed water depth on the alluvial channels. The rainfall excess in the alluvial channels is computed to be equal to this depth plus the rainfall depth minus the infiltration losses. Infiltration in the channels is presented with Philips expression, coupled with an empirical model for the computation of a long-term average value for the soil moisture content. The distribution model is verified through applications for three gauged watersheds in Saudi Arabia: Wadi Liyyah (174 km2), Wadi Turrabah (3720 km2), and Wadi Khulays (5220 km2). The results are found to be in a good agreement with observations.

Irrigated agricultural expansion planning in developing countries: Performance vs. resilience vs. reliability

The conflict between performance measured in terms of economic and income redistribution objectives, resilience and reliability of irrigated agricultural expansions in developing countries is investigated via a planning framework consisting of three sequential optimization models. The first model determines the most economic planning alternatives. The second model examines, in terms of an income redistribution criterion, the social attractiveness of each plan. The third model determines resilience and operating rules of the various alternatives. The planning framework is appled for a hypothetical agricultural expansion on the order of 30 000 hectares based on data from the Nile Delta in Egypt. The trade-off between system performance, reliability and resilience is derived.

Applications of Geomorphologic Theory to Ungauged Watersheds in Sinai

Recently hydrologic models based on the geomorphologic theory for the prediction of discharge hydrographs of ungauged watersheds have been developed. The paper presents a review on these models and on their mathematical development. One of these models, which accounts for the infiltration in watersheds, is applied for Elmaghara basin in the northern part of Sinai. A geomorphoclimatic model for the prediction of surface runoff volumes is also presented and applied for the same basin. The model has a simple structure and is applicable for large scale basins. It is designed in such a way that a physically based expression for iniltration can be considered. The effects of infiltration on the surface runoff of the basin are illustrated.

Jonglei Canal Project Under Potential Developments in the Upper Nile States

Nile basin countries are experiencing water scarcity due to rapid growth in population and climate change. This scarcity drew attention to the vast amount of w…