10
A. M. Negm et al.
in Dakhla Oasis. This chapter explores the technology-human society relationship,
concentrating on the advancement of well-drilling technology, using Rashda Village
as a case study in Dakhla Oasis. The livelihood in an oasis depends on groundwater
drawn from wells. Hence, the oasis has a well-centered society determined by the
nature of the wells. In the study village in Dakhla Oasis, wells are classified into
five types: government wells (bir hukumi), local wells (bir ahli), investment wells
(bir istithmari), surface springs (‘ain sathi), and Roman springs (‘ain rumani). Their
names imply a distinction between springs (‘ain) and wells (bir). Different types of
wells have different forms of livelihoods. By focusing on the history of well drilling in
the study village, this chapter attempts to understand how technological development
has changed the fundamental problem of the relationship between humans and water.
Since the late 1950s, the drastic change in the human relationship with groundwater
has taken place with the development of modern technology. The deep-well drilling
machines and pumping technologies have enabled the vertical and horizontal extraction of the groundwater. The technology of water discharge enabled the discharge of
a large amount of groundwater and the ability to overcome water deficiency, whose
consequence since then was the lowering of the groundwater level.
Knowing the limitations of the water resources in the desert and in Dakhla Oasis
as well, Chap. 13 comes with the title “Development of land use and groundwater in
Rashda village (Dakhla Oasis), 1960s-2018” to identify the land expansion dynamics
and their primary drivers in Rashda village in Dakhla Oasis as a typical example.
The authors analyze the changes in land use and the wells development in the village
for the period between 1968 and 2018. Land uses were identified using 1968 Corona
images and 1988 and 2003 Landsat images and 2018 Sentinel-2 images. Groundwater
data were collected from field survey and South Western Desert groundwater central
laboratory. Results indicated that the area occupied by irrigation agriculture has
accelerated since 1968, and its area doubled over the past 50 years. During that period,
there was a simultaneous increase in total population and constructed wells during
implementation of the New Valley Project. Thus, human migration and national
development are identified as potential drivers of land expansion.
In Chap. 11, the authors stated that waterlogging problems were observed in
Dakhla Oasis. Therefore, Chap. 14 with the title “Detecting and Controlling the
Water logging in Dakhla Basin” discusses the waterlogging in Dakhla Basin (Dakhla
Oasis, Kharga Oasis, and Farafa Oasis). The ability of the various oases for the issue of
waterlogging and salinity is different depending on the hydrological, socioeconomic
and political conditions. Therefore, Chap. 14 tries to detect waterlogging in three
basins in the desert, namely, Dakhla Oasis, Kharga Oasis, and Farafa Oasis. First,
Dakhla Oasis is a relatively large oasis 350 km away from the Nile River. Aquifer
extraction has already some environmental impacts. If the current rate of extraction
were raised, the economic level of 65 meters below ground level would still not be
reached. The groundwater quality in this oasis is generally good and this means that
the agricultural area in this oasis could be increased. Second, Kharga Oasis is located
140 km east of the Dakhla Oasis. The quality of the water is good but the extraction
is already so high that it has repercussions and the water level has deteriorated as a
result. The third, Farafa Oasis is located 627 km from Cairo and has some natural
A. M. Negm et al.
in Dakhla Oasis. This chapter explores the technology-human society relationship,
concentrating on the advancement of well-drilling technology, using Rashda Village
as a case study in Dakhla Oasis. The livelihood in an oasis depends on groundwater
drawn from wells. Hence, the oasis has a well-centered society determined by the
nature of the wells. In the study village in Dakhla Oasis, wells are classified into
five types: government wells (bir hukumi), local wells (bir ahli), investment wells
(bir istithmari), surface springs (‘ain sathi), and Roman springs (‘ain rumani). Their
names imply a distinction between springs (‘ain) and wells (bir). Different types of
wells have different forms of livelihoods. By focusing on the history of well drilling in
the study village, this chapter attempts to understand how technological development
has changed the fundamental problem of the relationship between humans and water.
Since the late 1950s, the drastic change in the human relationship with groundwater
has taken place with the development of modern technology. The deep-well drilling
machines and pumping technologies have enabled the vertical and horizontal extraction of the groundwater. The technology of water discharge enabled the discharge of
a large amount of groundwater and the ability to overcome water deficiency, whose
consequence since then was the lowering of the groundwater level.
Knowing the limitations of the water resources in the desert and in Dakhla Oasis
as well, Chap. 13 comes with the title “Development of land use and groundwater in
Rashda village (Dakhla Oasis), 1960s-2018” to identify the land expansion dynamics
and their primary drivers in Rashda village in Dakhla Oasis as a typical example.
The authors analyze the changes in land use and the wells development in the village
for the period between 1968 and 2018. Land uses were identified using 1968 Corona
images and 1988 and 2003 Landsat images and 2018 Sentinel-2 images. Groundwater
data were collected from field survey and South Western Desert groundwater central
laboratory. Results indicated that the area occupied by irrigation agriculture has
accelerated since 1968, and its area doubled over the past 50 years. During that period,
there was a simultaneous increase in total population and constructed wells during
implementation of the New Valley Project. Thus, human migration and national
development are identified as potential drivers of land expansion.
In Chap. 11, the authors stated that waterlogging problems were observed in
Dakhla Oasis. Therefore, Chap. 14 with the title “Detecting and Controlling the
Water logging in Dakhla Basin” discusses the waterlogging in Dakhla Basin (Dakhla
Oasis, Kharga Oasis, and Farafa Oasis). The ability of the various oases for the issue of
waterlogging and salinity is different depending on the hydrological, socioeconomic
and political conditions. Therefore, Chap. 14 tries to detect waterlogging in three
basins in the desert, namely, Dakhla Oasis, Kharga Oasis, and Farafa Oasis. First,
Dakhla Oasis is a relatively large oasis 350 km away from the Nile River. Aquifer
extraction has already some environmental impacts. If the current rate of extraction
were raised, the economic level of 65 meters below ground level would still not be
reached. The groundwater quality in this oasis is generally good and this means that
the agricultural area in this oasis could be increased. Second, Kharga Oasis is located
140 km east of the Dakhla Oasis. The quality of the water is good but the extraction
is already so high that it has repercussions and the water level has deteriorated as a
result. The third, Farafa Oasis is located 627 km from Cairo and has some natural