Evaluation of the potential impact of Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam and pumping scenarios on groundwater
level in the Nile Delta aquifer
Asaad M. Armanuos, Mona G. Ibrahim, Wael Elham Mahmod,
Abdelazim Negm, C. Yoshimura, Jiro Takemura and Bakenaz A. Zidan
ABSTRACT
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the potential impact of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance
Dam (GERD) and pumping scenarios on groundwater level by a three-dimensional groundwater
model of the Nile Delta using MODFLOW software. The Nile Delta has highly intensive irrigation canal
networks that share yearly about 35.5 km
3
of water. In this study, an integrated three-dimensional
groundwater model is built considering the actual condition of the irrigation canals and their
recharges of the Nile Delta aquifer. The model was calibrated for estimating the vertical and hydraulic
conductivity. The model was run for three scenarios: (1) reduction of water depth in canals, (2)
increasing pumping discharge from the aquifer and (3) combination between the first and second
scenarios. Results reveal that the effect of increasing the pumping discharge on groundwater level in
the Nile Delta is more significant than decreasing the water depth of the canals network due to the
fact of the existence of the upper clay layer which reduces the amount of water penetrating and
reaching the groundwater in the aquifer. The last scenario presents the worst case as the average
drawdown reached 1.26 m, 1.7 m and 1.35 m in the western, central and eastern parts of the Nile
Delta respectively. The study results should be taken in account for studying the saltwater intrusion
and climate change impacts on the Nile Delta region.
Asaad M. Armanuos (corresponding author)
Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology,
Alexandria,
Egypt Tanta University and Tokyo Institute of
Technology,
Tokyo, Japan
E-mail: asaad.matter@ejust.edu.eg;
armanuos.a.aa@m.titech.ac.jp
Mona G. Ibrahim
Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology,
Alexandria, Egypt
and
Environmental Health Department,
High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria
University,
Alexandria, Egypt
Wael Elham Mahmod
Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology,
Alexandria, Egypt
and
Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of
Engineering,
Assiut University
Assiut, Egypt
Abdelazim Negm
Faculty of Engineering,
Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
C. Yoshimura
Department of Civil Engineering,
Tokyo Institute of Technology,
2-12-1Oookayama, Meguro,
Tokyo 152-0033, Japan
Jiro Takemura
Department of Civil Engineering,
Tokyo Institute of Technology,
2-12-1 Oookayama, Meguro,
Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
Bakenaz A. Zidan
Faculty of Engineering,
Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
Key words | GERD, groundwater, irrigation canal networks, Nile Delta aquifer, recharge
INTRODUCTION
The Nile Delta receives almost 35.5 km
3
/year of the surface
water from the Nile River. This also recharges the aquifer
through the infiltration of excess irrigation water and see-
page from canals (Anon ; Shahein ; Kashef ),
which is the main source of recharge for the Nile Delta
aquifer (Wahaab & Badawy ; El Ramly ). Accord-
ing to El Ramly (), the rate of groundwater recharge
from the excess irrigation water ranges from 0.25 to
1.1 mm/day. The agricultural recharge to the Quaternary
aquifer ranges from 0.8 to 1.1 mm/day for old lands and
1356 © IWA Publishing 2017 Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 17.5 | 2017
doi: 10.2166/ws.2017.037
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