Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1992

Abstract

The demands for fresh water supplies in Egypt are increasing duc to population growth and altendant from the Nile River, groundwater resources becorne increasingly important. In the development of groundwater, as in the development of any natural resourcc, well-informed management can make a great difference. If the consequences of various actions arc understood in advance, decision-makers would be able to select those actions that maximize long-term benefits. The prerequisite to any kind of successfull managemcnt is information, both on the extent of thc resource and on the hydrologic impacts of various devclopment alternatives. An understanding of the natural flow systems and of the way in which it will respond to imposed stresses - hydraulically, chemically, and structurally - is a necesary prerequisite to groundwater devclopment planning, In this regard, remote sensing can play a major role in providing information on the potential of groundwater resources in both primary and secondary rock porosity. f` urthermore, Geographic Informarion Systems (GIS) can be utilized in compurer manipulation of the data for retreval, presentation and correlation. One tool for managing water resources in scmi-arid regions on a long-term basis is the concepr or ""conjunctive use", which means managing avaijable surface water jointly with groundwater supplies. A component of conjunctive use is utilizing groundwater basins for storage, much like surface reservoirs are used, and coordinating that subsurface storage with surface supplies for seasonal or long-ferm use. Storing water underground has several benefits. The cvaporation losses from underground storage are minimal. Aiso, in areas where the devefopment of new reservoirs is unlikely, the underground basins of- fer a partial solttion to firmning up scarce resourees for present and future use. In the case of Egypt, conjunctive ase is a practical tool for the coordinated management of Nile water and the shallow aquifers of the Defta and Nile Valley, and particutarly of Lake Nasser south of the High Dam at Aswan. However, in desert areas, where vast amounts of generally non-renewable (fossil) groundwater are stored, such supplies should be regarded as a factor in large-seale development. In stch cases, the region as a whole is viewed as a production system where the volume of extractable non- renewable water is introduced as one constraint along with climate, soil types, topogrpahw, remoteness, cte. Iris only through che availabiliry orsuuh data and fhei proper urilization that groundwater resourices ean be properly managed and adequately used in cconomic devclopment.

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