Ensuring Sustai
Ensuring Sustainable Development via Groundwater Management (Case Study: El Bahariya Oasis)
Mohamed Fahmy M. El Hossary
Associate Professor, Desert Research Department, Research Institute for Groundwater, National Water Research Center, Egypt. [email protected]
Abstract: In this research, an attempt was made to develop and test water management scenarios in Bahariya Oasis which is one of the promising oases in the Western Desert. Groundwater potential, for future development, is assessed, based on available data and information. A simulation was made for the present trends in groundwater heads as the base for testing the impacts of future developments. The results indicated that even under the high water allocation per feddan, the expected drawdowns are still in the safe range. The results, also, outlined that the maximum expected drawdowns will range between 3 and 26 meters for the minimum water allocation after 25 years (i.e. which represents less than 10 % of the saturated thickness between 32 and 4 meters after 50 years). It was also clear that the additional expected cultivated area will be about 50 thousand feddans. It was further recommended to discuss the results with the local people and developers, to implement the proposed scenarios on a gradual basis with appropriate monitoring of impacts, to compare the results of monitoring with the obtained simulation results and to revise the scenarios based on the results.
[Mohamed Fahmy M. El Hossary. Ensuring Sustainable Development via Groundwater Management (Case Study: El Bahariya Oasis). J Am Sci 2013;9(6):6-13]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.jofamericanscience.org. 2
Keywords: Bahariya Oasis, Groundwater Management, Sustainable Development, Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. Full Text 2
