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Numerical modeling of groundwater resource management options in the East Oweinat area, SW Egypt

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Southwest Egypt is an arid area with no surface water and limited resources of useable groundwater in the well-known Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. These groundwater reserves have been heavily exploited since the 1960s, which has led to substantial decline in the potentiometric surface of the aquifer. A calibrated regional numerical model with refined grids on the pumping centers has been used to investigate the hydrodynamic impacts of different groundwater management options on the potentiometry of the aquifers. The results indicate that there is a real danger of either dewatering the shallow aquifer in some areas (e.g., Kharga Oasis), or increasing the water depth to uneconomic lifting depth. They also indicate that, although the planned extraction rates in Dakhla, Farafra, and Bahariya oases are feasible for at least the coming 100 years, the present rate for Kharga Oasis and the planned rate for the East Oweinat area have to be reduced substantially.

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Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge Professors Gunter Dörhöfer, Sigrid Dörhöfer, and James LaMoreaux from the editorial board of Environmental Geology for their valuable comments on the manuscript. This paper would not have been possible without the database of drilling information, together with geological and hydrogeological data. Much of the drilling activities, which have been going on since the 1970s, were supported by the USA-AID program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt

    A. M. Ebraheem, S. Riad & A. M. Seif El Nasr

  2. Geology Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

    H. K. Garamoon

  3. Geology Department, Martin Luther University, Halle, Germany

    P. Wycisk

Authors
  1. A. M. Ebraheem
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  2. H. K. Garamoon
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  3. S. Riad
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  4. P. Wycisk
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  5. A. M. Seif El Nasr
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. M. Ebraheem.

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Ebraheem, A.M., Garamoon, H.K., Riad, S. et al. Numerical modeling of groundwater resource management options in the East Oweinat area, SW Egypt. Env Geol 44, 433–447 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0778-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0778-1

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