Introduction to “Sustainable Water Solutions in the Western ...
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population culture and migration. The economic activities which include agriculture, mining and pottery are discussed. Also, women’s life and their activities are
presented. The tourism activities are highlighted and the environmental problems of
the oasis are presented.
On the other hand, the Western Desert oases are fully dependent on the Nubian
Sandstone Aquifer as their only source of water. Given this, water, particularly irrigation water for agriculture, is used extremely inefficiently (see Chap. 14 titled
“Detecting and Controlling the Waterlogging in Dakhla Basin”. Groundwater is one
of Western Desert and Egypt’s most important water resources. Groundwater quality
depends on two main factors, namely the water source and the form of bearing rocks.
There are also important factors in the movement and flow of water from one point
to another. Renewable groundwater’s major feeding sources are rainwater drainage,
irrigation water, treated sanitary drainage water, and treated industrial wastewater.
The quality of groundwater is therefore greatly affected by both surface activities and
the amount of water that fills underground reservoirs (Elnashar 2014). Water quality
monitoring and identification of factors influencing this quality are very crucial baselines for achieving effective water resources management and sustainable development (Alexakis and Tsakiris 2010). Leaching and oxidation of weathered rock is the
major influence on groundwater quality. In addition, these hydrochemical processes
help to gain insight into the contributions of rock-water interactions to the performance of groundwater (El-Sayed et al. 2012). El-Zeiny and Elbeih (2019) studied the
Water Quality Index (WQI) for Dakhla Oasis. The study indicated that nearly 95%
of the Dakhla Oasis wells studied are safe for drinking using Egyptian and WHO
standards. In addition, most wells are suitable for irrigation taking into consideration
the international recommendations for irrigation.
Most aquifers usually consist of either unconsolidated or consolidated granular material (sand and gravel) or fissured and karstified calcareous material. Such
aquifers are infinite or semi-confined. In the Nile River region, there are numerous
groundwater aquifers of different significance for exploitation. They range from lowlying local aquifers, recharged by rainfall, to deep aquifers containing large-scale
non-replaceable reserves (Elnashar 2014; Abdel Moneim et al. 2014). The yield of
aquifers varies depending on their composition. Three types of aquifers are available: broken-bedrock, weathered-mantle and fluvial aquifers. Fractured bedrock is
the highest yielding aquifers, the weathered aquifer and the fractured double-layered
aquifer (Taylor and Howard 2000). Poorly weathered aquifers, also ideal for livestock, are capable of producing groundwater. Extreme weathering triggers the deposition of residual accumulations of many secondary minerals, uranium and heavy
metals (Phillips and Watson 2015). Aquifers located adjacent to large surface water
courses are alluvial and fluvial. These aquifers are found at relatively low depths, as
in the Nile aquifer (NWRP 2005).
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population culture and migration. The economic activities which include agriculture, mining and pottery are discussed. Also, women’s life and their activities are
presented. The tourism activities are highlighted and the environmental problems of
the oasis are presented.
On the other hand, the Western Desert oases are fully dependent on the Nubian
Sandstone Aquifer as their only source of water. Given this, water, particularly irrigation water for agriculture, is used extremely inefficiently (see Chap. 14 titled
“Detecting and Controlling the Waterlogging in Dakhla Basin”. Groundwater is one
of Western Desert and Egypt’s most important water resources. Groundwater quality
depends on two main factors, namely the water source and the form of bearing rocks.
There are also important factors in the movement and flow of water from one point
to another. Renewable groundwater’s major feeding sources are rainwater drainage,
irrigation water, treated sanitary drainage water, and treated industrial wastewater.
The quality of groundwater is therefore greatly affected by both surface activities and
the amount of water that fills underground reservoirs (Elnashar 2014). Water quality
monitoring and identification of factors influencing this quality are very crucial baselines for achieving effective water resources management and sustainable development (Alexakis and Tsakiris 2010). Leaching and oxidation of weathered rock is the
major influence on groundwater quality. In addition, these hydrochemical processes
help to gain insight into the contributions of rock-water interactions to the performance of groundwater (El-Sayed et al. 2012). El-Zeiny and Elbeih (2019) studied the
Water Quality Index (WQI) for Dakhla Oasis. The study indicated that nearly 95%
of the Dakhla Oasis wells studied are safe for drinking using Egyptian and WHO
standards. In addition, most wells are suitable for irrigation taking into consideration
the international recommendations for irrigation.
Most aquifers usually consist of either unconsolidated or consolidated granular material (sand and gravel) or fissured and karstified calcareous material. Such
aquifers are infinite or semi-confined. In the Nile River region, there are numerous
groundwater aquifers of different significance for exploitation. They range from lowlying local aquifers, recharged by rainfall, to deep aquifers containing large-scale
non-replaceable reserves (Elnashar 2014; Abdel Moneim et al. 2014). The yield of
aquifers varies depending on their composition. Three types of aquifers are available: broken-bedrock, weathered-mantle and fluvial aquifers. Fractured bedrock is
the highest yielding aquifers, the weathered aquifer and the fractured double-layered
aquifer (Taylor and Howard 2000). Poorly weathered aquifers, also ideal for livestock, are capable of producing groundwater. Extreme weathering triggers the deposition of residual accumulations of many secondary minerals, uranium and heavy
metals (Phillips and Watson 2015). Aquifers located adjacent to large surface water
courses are alluvial and fluvial. These aquifers are found at relatively low depths, as
in the Nile aquifer (NWRP 2005).