ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE ON GROUNDWATER IN BUSTAN EXTENSION AREA

Abstract

This work concentrates on using the artificial recharge of groundwater to recharge the aquifer in the areas suffering from shortage of surface or rain water. The environmental impact of applying the different techniques of the artificial recharge are studied. The approach utilized in this study is considering the invention of the most suitable regions in Egypt for applying the artificial recharge and selecting one of them as a case study. The most two economic techniques of the artificial recharge are applied, which are the basin method for surface recharging and well method for deep recharging. Then, two fields are designed and constructed in the study area, one field for each method of recharging. The changes in the main hydrogeological and hydrochemical parameters, due to changing the main affecting parameters, are monitored. By analysing the results, the applicability of the artificial recharge in the selected area is evaluated. In addition, the technical efficiency of each method of artificial recharge is estimated according to the chosen design of the different components of experimental station of artificial recharge. The thesis consists of six chapters: Chapter 1 includes the importance of the artificial recharge as a tool for the water resources management and testing the technical applicability of artificial recharge under the Egyptian conditions. Chapter 2 involves the previous work in the field of the artificial recharge. Chapter 3 contains the general description of the study area, which is El-Bustan Extension area: climatic, geologic, geomorphologic, hydrologic, hydrochemical and land use conditions.