254
E.-S. E. Omran
well intervention. This situation has led to an increasing realization that making
groundwater more efficient and sustainable can be accomplished through good
management. Moharram et al. utilized models under different scenarios to determine the optimum pumping speed and the number of wells in Farafra Oasis. The
findings show that the optimum pumping speed is 183,023 m
3 /day in the current
situation. The second scenario implies a 20 percent increase in the number of wells.
The optimal rate then reaches 220,016 m
3 /day. The third scenario suggests an estimated pumping rate of 254,484 m
3 /day. This water will be enough to increase the
cultivated area by 4000 acres in the oasis (Moharram et al. 2011).
6 Waterlogging in Dakhla Basin
Dakhla Basin in the New Valley comprises of three oases, Kharga, Dakhla, and
Farafra (Allam et al. 2002). Dakhla is the biggest oasis in the Western Desert and lies
farthest away from the main settlements of Egypt. Dakhla is located 122 meters above
sea level on average. West Mawhub is the lowest point of the Dakhla Oasis, around
88 m (amsl), and the ground of the oasis slowly rises to the south-east. Altitudes
vary between 110 and 140 m above sea level (Kleindienst et al. 1999). Dakhla was
originally fed by about 520 springs and ponds, but many have dried out in modern
times, while others only operate with electric pumps. Dakhla’s economy relies on
agriculture, craft manufacturing, and some tourism. Dakhla must have felt like a
world of its own before the road was constructed, where only a few people ever came
as far as the nearby oases of Kharga and Farafra.
Where there have been no further annual floods due to the construction of the
Aswan High Dam, it led to waterlogging and salinization as a result. If the soil
around the New Valley is continuously used and cultivated to grow crops throughout
the year, the result will be waterlogging. So, a sub-surface drainage system is required
to prevent the soil from waterlogging. It would most likely be a very comprehensive
way to deal with this negative consequence to outfit the agricultural land throughout
the New Valley. If the agricultural land is not well prepared, waterlogging can allow
high groundwater levels to occur, resulting in evaporation sucking up the water. This
leads to salinization because, by capillary action, salts are disintegrated into the water
and drawn to the surface. Then the soil and the water are saltier than before.
The purpose of this work is to determine the main causes of waterlogging in
Dakhla Basin (Kharga, Dakhla, and Farafra) and to identify the most prone possible
waterlogging sites (Fig. 8). Waterlogged areas of the Dakhla Oasis from the year
2017 to 2019 generated through the spatial database created in GIS environment
are presented in Fig. 8. Waterlogging and soil salinity threats are closely connected
with the spatial patterns of fluvial channels that have been vanquished in the Sahara
several thousand years ago since the last wet climatic pluvial. Thus, waterlogging risk
can be better understood and thus minimized by remote sensing and GIS mapping
the paleohydrological conditions to be included in the development of agricultural
field drainage. Satellite information and data obtained from the literature shows the
E.-S. E. Omran
well intervention. This situation has led to an increasing realization that making
groundwater more efficient and sustainable can be accomplished through good
management. Moharram et al. utilized models under different scenarios to determine the optimum pumping speed and the number of wells in Farafra Oasis. The
findings show that the optimum pumping speed is 183,023 m
3 /day in the current
situation. The second scenario implies a 20 percent increase in the number of wells.
The optimal rate then reaches 220,016 m
3 /day. The third scenario suggests an estimated pumping rate of 254,484 m
3 /day. This water will be enough to increase the
cultivated area by 4000 acres in the oasis (Moharram et al. 2011).
6 Waterlogging in Dakhla Basin
Dakhla Basin in the New Valley comprises of three oases, Kharga, Dakhla, and
Farafra (Allam et al. 2002). Dakhla is the biggest oasis in the Western Desert and lies
farthest away from the main settlements of Egypt. Dakhla is located 122 meters above
sea level on average. West Mawhub is the lowest point of the Dakhla Oasis, around
88 m (amsl), and the ground of the oasis slowly rises to the south-east. Altitudes
vary between 110 and 140 m above sea level (Kleindienst et al. 1999). Dakhla was
originally fed by about 520 springs and ponds, but many have dried out in modern
times, while others only operate with electric pumps. Dakhla’s economy relies on
agriculture, craft manufacturing, and some tourism. Dakhla must have felt like a
world of its own before the road was constructed, where only a few people ever came
as far as the nearby oases of Kharga and Farafra.
Where there have been no further annual floods due to the construction of the
Aswan High Dam, it led to waterlogging and salinization as a result. If the soil
around the New Valley is continuously used and cultivated to grow crops throughout
the year, the result will be waterlogging. So, a sub-surface drainage system is required
to prevent the soil from waterlogging. It would most likely be a very comprehensive
way to deal with this negative consequence to outfit the agricultural land throughout
the New Valley. If the agricultural land is not well prepared, waterlogging can allow
high groundwater levels to occur, resulting in evaporation sucking up the water. This
leads to salinization because, by capillary action, salts are disintegrated into the water
and drawn to the surface. Then the soil and the water are saltier than before.
The purpose of this work is to determine the main causes of waterlogging in
Dakhla Basin (Kharga, Dakhla, and Farafra) and to identify the most prone possible
waterlogging sites (Fig. 8). Waterlogged areas of the Dakhla Oasis from the year
2017 to 2019 generated through the spatial database created in GIS environment
are presented in Fig. 8. Waterlogging and soil salinity threats are closely connected
with the spatial patterns of fluvial channels that have been vanquished in the Sahara
several thousand years ago since the last wet climatic pluvial. Thus, waterlogging risk
can be better understood and thus minimized by remote sensing and GIS mapping
the paleohydrological conditions to be included in the development of agricultural
field drainage. Satellite information and data obtained from the literature shows the