HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF WATER RESOURCES AND FLOOD CONTROL MANAGEMENT, WADI EL- ATFEHY, EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT

Abstract

Water resources management in Egypt is considered a complex process that involves multiple stakeholders who use water for irrigation, municipal and industrial water supply, hydropower generation and navigation. In addition, the River Nile water supports aquatic ecosystems that are threatened by over consumption and pollution. Hydrographic basin analysis plays an important role in the assessment of the groundwater potential and development. The present work deals with the morphometric analysis of the hydrographic drainage network of El-Aftehy hydrographic basin in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Wadi El-Atfehy occupies an area of about 450 Km2 between latitudes 29˚ 10 ̀ - 29˚ 30 ̀ N and longitudes 31˚ 10 ̀ - 31˚ 50 ̀ E (Fig. 1). The studied basin is accessible through El Kurimate - El Zaafranah asphaltic road and Asyuit Desert road. The watershed is located about 48 Km to the south of Helwan city and about 42 Km to the nourth of BeniSuef city. It represents a characteristic hydrographic basin in the northern part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt. El Atfehy hydrographic basin received heavy rainfall showers during the last decade; the resulted flash floods were associated with great flood hazard on the study area. Geospatial techniques vis-a-vis ASTGM satellite images, Geographic Information System (GIS), and Watershed Modeling System (WMS) are applied in order to investigate the hydro-morphometrical control on the catchment hydrology functions, the groundwater potentials, and the flood hazard. From the analysis of morphometric parameters of sub-basins, the rates of infiltration are expected to be high at the upstream and middle parts of El-Atfehy hydrographic basin. Potential groundwater recharge from flash floods for the Middle Eocene aquifer is expected. The Quaternary aquifer at the basin delta receives the down percolation of flash floods; where they contribute the groundwater resources in the delta of El-Atfehy. The estimated values of Flood-hazard of El-Atfehy hydrographic basin are grouped under three classes; high, moderate and low, The low hazard sub-basins include Homary, Sub-basin 1, Al- Jibu, Umm Jinays, Abu Mighayir, Umm Ratama, and Umm Shieha, while the moderate hazardous one include Umm Rossa, Sub-basin 2, Sub-basin 3, and Main Channel and the high hazardous include Al- Hutaliyah, Al- Jarariyah, Abu Mesally, Umm Sayalah and Al-Asliyah.

The promising regions have a total area of about 74.180 km2, which constitutes about 17.659 % of the total hydrographic basin area. These promising regions were subsequently sub divided into four priority areas according to their relative location to the planned RWH systems and the constructed or proposed hydraulic devices /structures (i.e. dams, cisterns or groundwater wells)

Keywords: El-Atfehy hydrographic basin, Drainage network, Hydrogeology, Morphometric parameters, Flash floods, Eastern Desert, Egypt.