Assessment of groundwater development potential in Upper Cretaceous aquifer in Sinai, Egypt
- Citation:
- Ibrahim, H. A., M. A. Abd-Elmegeed, A. M. Ghanem, and A. E. Hassan, Assessment of groundwater development potential in Upper Cretaceous aquifer in Sinai, Egypt, , vol. 14, issue 19, pp. 2058, 2021.
Abstract:
Regular assessment of groundwater potential is vital especially in arid regions that depend mainly on groundwater. Sinai Peninsula is one of the strategic arid regions in Egypt where any future development plans would mainly depend on groundwater. In this research, the sustainability of the Upper Cretaceous Aquifer in Sinai is evaluated considering the effect of three types of abstractions. First, 54 currently working abstraction wells with total extraction of about 300 m3/day. Second, 24 newly drilled wells that serve 2000 feddan in a new developmental settlement to the west of the study area with expected total extraction of 23,000 m3/day. The third component is the current abstraction of about 20 Mm3/year from the El-Naqb area.. The objective of this study was achieved by analyzing the available geological, lithological, and hydrogeological data and then using these analyzed data to simulate the aquifer using MODFLOW code in the GMS software. The constructed model was calibrated in a transient mode with the aid of parameter estimation program (PEST). A forward run then took place to predict water levels after 30 years considering a new developmental settlement constructed in El-Nehayat (Ras Sudr). Results show that the estimated spatial maximum and average drawdown rates at El-Nehayat are 2.57 and 0.4 m/year which are small values due to the limited present development on the UCA. Based on the obtained results, further exploration for the UCA is recommended.
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