MAPPING & ASSESSING THE MUNICIPAL IRRIGATION WATER USE: THE CASE OF DISTRICTS 3 AND 4 IN AL-REHAB SETTLEMENT

Abstract

Egypt is one of the many countries worldwide that suffer from a per capita water share that is below 1000m3/person/year. That water share in 2018 was 570m3/person which indicates that Egypt suffers from water poverty. Of this index, only 103.2m3/year was a person's share of produced freshwater in 2017. Unfortunately, freshwater is used excessively and with no accountability for irrigation and maintenance purposes in new settlements in Egypt. The green spaces of 2 study areas in the urban settlement of Al-Rehab are monitored and analyzed in terms of irrigation water usage. This analysis is done by comparing the indoor domestic consumption with that of irrigation. Furthermore, 3 climate change scenarios are proposed for study area 2 to understand how those climate projections could affect the region’s vegetation. 67.1% of the municipal water used in the settlement is consumed in irrigation practices, while the remaining 32.8% is used indoors. The continuous reliance on freshwater for irrigation, inefficient irrigation systems and practices, and random plant selection and distribution are among the existing challenges. Not to mention that the excessive use of seemingly non-functional groundcovers leads to high irrigation water consumption. These are major problems for Egyptian cities that consist of spacious green areas in need of high irrigation water quantities. The research highlights the main weaknesses in the municipal water system along with the possibilities of reducing water consumption in that sector. It concludes by briefly mentioning and suggesting some measures to be considered when designing green spaces and managing their irrigation in new communities. Those measures are mentioned in hopes of being able to mitigate and reduce the levels of water scarcity and sustain the per capita water share in Egypt.