431
Egyptian wetlands. One classified wetlands in Egypt according to its location to be
coastal either in the Mediterranean Sea or Red Sea or inland wetlands. Another classification was adopted the wetlands in Egypt into 14 generic types. The northern
lakes are grouped in one of these types. Moreover, classification of the northern
lakes as coastal wetlands has been performed into three sectors from Salloum to
Alexandria to Port Said to Rafah. The second and the central area contains the most
important lagoons and wetlands: from west to east Mariout, Edku, Burullus and
Manzala.
The Egyptian Ministry of Environmental Affairs updated the National
Biodiversity, Strategy and Action plan (NBSAP) for the years (2015–2030). One of
the goals of this strategy is to minimize the rate of wetlands loss by 50% and
improved the water efficiency for farming by 50%. In general, the wetlands in Egypt
are facing many threats to their degradation such as pollution, reduction of its area,
accretion and erosion, climate change and overgrazing. Nile Delta coastal lagoons
Manzala, Burullus, Edku and Mariout have discussed in some kinds of details to
describe their morphology, environmental status & stress and their water quality
according to recent measurements of EEAA team work. These coastal wetlands are
shallow lakes with direct or indirect contact with the sea.
El-Manzala Lagoon was characterized by enlargement of its size, which reduced
with the time, and its high productivity. The lake received its water from different
polluted drains. Artificial wetland has been established to reduce the pollution of
Bahr Elbakar Drain, which is the most polluted drain discharge its water to
El-Manzala Lake. El-Burullus Lake is the second largest coastal lake. El-Burullus
Lake receives fluctuated amounts of drainage waters with anthropogenic materials
from agricultural areas through seven drains. Edku Lake is coastal wetland located
in the north of the Nile Delta west of the Rosetta Nile branch. Two main drains
namely Magrour Edku and Barsiek discharge huge volumes of drainage water to the
Lake. Lake Mariout is situated south of Alexandria city. It divided artificially into
four basins; the fish farm, the north-western, the south-western, and the main basins.
The major water sources of Edku lake are El-Omoum Drainage, El-Kalaa Drainage
and Nubaria Canal.
EEAA initiated monitoring program to check the coastal lakes water quality. The
results of this program are presented in different EEAA publications such as Egypt
state of environment and summarized in this chapter. The critical environmental
indicators have been identified and monitored in the coastal lagoons under investigation. Dissolved oxygen, water temperature, salinity, sedimentation, acidification,
coliform bacteria. This program indicated that hypoxia (dissolved oxygen <4 mg/L)
condition has been detected in different sites in the four brackish coastal lagoons
(Manzala, El-Burullus, Edku and Mariout). Coliform bacteria was found in parts of
the four coastal lagoons under investigation higher than the accepted counts level,
which indicated of the domestic pollution.
National program organized by EEAA has been established to monitor water
quality of the adjacent marine area of the coastal lakes under investigation to obtain
baseline knowledge of the quality of the Egyptian coastal waters. The program
focus on the estuaries and outlets of major drains and the coastal lakes. Selected
13 Egyptian Nile Delta Coastal Lagoons: Alteration and Subsequent Restoration
Egyptian wetlands. One classified wetlands in Egypt according to its location to be
coastal either in the Mediterranean Sea or Red Sea or inland wetlands. Another classification was adopted the wetlands in Egypt into 14 generic types. The northern
lakes are grouped in one of these types. Moreover, classification of the northern
lakes as coastal wetlands has been performed into three sectors from Salloum to
Alexandria to Port Said to Rafah. The second and the central area contains the most
important lagoons and wetlands: from west to east Mariout, Edku, Burullus and
Manzala.
The Egyptian Ministry of Environmental Affairs updated the National
Biodiversity, Strategy and Action plan (NBSAP) for the years (2015–2030). One of
the goals of this strategy is to minimize the rate of wetlands loss by 50% and
improved the water efficiency for farming by 50%. In general, the wetlands in Egypt
are facing many threats to their degradation such as pollution, reduction of its area,
accretion and erosion, climate change and overgrazing. Nile Delta coastal lagoons
Manzala, Burullus, Edku and Mariout have discussed in some kinds of details to
describe their morphology, environmental status & stress and their water quality
according to recent measurements of EEAA team work. These coastal wetlands are
shallow lakes with direct or indirect contact with the sea.
El-Manzala Lagoon was characterized by enlargement of its size, which reduced
with the time, and its high productivity. The lake received its water from different
polluted drains. Artificial wetland has been established to reduce the pollution of
Bahr Elbakar Drain, which is the most polluted drain discharge its water to
El-Manzala Lake. El-Burullus Lake is the second largest coastal lake. El-Burullus
Lake receives fluctuated amounts of drainage waters with anthropogenic materials
from agricultural areas through seven drains. Edku Lake is coastal wetland located
in the north of the Nile Delta west of the Rosetta Nile branch. Two main drains
namely Magrour Edku and Barsiek discharge huge volumes of drainage water to the
Lake. Lake Mariout is situated south of Alexandria city. It divided artificially into
four basins; the fish farm, the north-western, the south-western, and the main basins.
The major water sources of Edku lake are El-Omoum Drainage, El-Kalaa Drainage
and Nubaria Canal.
EEAA initiated monitoring program to check the coastal lakes water quality. The
results of this program are presented in different EEAA publications such as Egypt
state of environment and summarized in this chapter. The critical environmental
indicators have been identified and monitored in the coastal lagoons under investigation. Dissolved oxygen, water temperature, salinity, sedimentation, acidification,
coliform bacteria. This program indicated that hypoxia (dissolved oxygen <4 mg/L)
condition has been detected in different sites in the four brackish coastal lagoons
(Manzala, El-Burullus, Edku and Mariout). Coliform bacteria was found in parts of
the four coastal lagoons under investigation higher than the accepted counts level,
which indicated of the domestic pollution.
National program organized by EEAA has been established to monitor water
quality of the adjacent marine area of the coastal lakes under investigation to obtain
baseline knowledge of the quality of the Egyptian coastal waters. The program
focus on the estuaries and outlets of major drains and the coastal lakes. Selected
13 Egyptian Nile Delta Coastal Lagoons: Alteration and Subsequent Restoration