ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL IN SINAI PENINSULA

Abstract

This study assesses the development potential in the Upper Cretaceous and Lower Cretaceous Aquifers in Sinai and predicts the effect of development on their sustainability. This can be achieved through simulating these groundwater aquifers in Sinai using Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) software that uses MODFLOW-2005 code. Before using the numerical model in prediction, the model has to be calibrated by changing different parameters until the calculated heads in the model domain match the observed ones with minimum error. Calibration can be achieved manually then automatically using the Parameter Estimation Program PEST in transient mode. After calibration, the model can be used to assess the future abstraction through a forward run to predict water levels and drawdown after 30 years. The results show that water depths in the Lower Cretaceous Aquifer will reach uneconomical depths in many areas while the drawdown in the groundwater level in the Upper Cretaceous Aquifer is relatively small.