Management of saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers using different wells systems: a case study of the Nile Delta aquifer in Egypt

Abd-Elaty, Ismail; Javadi, Akbar A.; Abd-Elhamid, Hany

Management of saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers using different wells systems: a case study of the Nile Delta aquifer in Egypt | Gestion de l’intrusion d’eau salée dans les aquifères côtiers faisant appel à différents systèmes de puits: étude du cas de l’aquifère du Delta du Nil en Egypte Gerenciamento da intrusão salgada em aquíferos costeiros utilizando diferentes sistemas de poços: um estudo de caso no aquífero do Delta do Nilo no Egito 使用不同的井系统管理沿海含水层的盐水入侵:以埃及尼罗河三角洲含水层为例 Gestión de la intrusión de agua salada en acuíferos costeros utilizando diferentes sistemas de perforaciones: un estudio de caso del acuífero del Delta del Nilo en Egipto

2021

Abd-Elaty, Ismail | Javadi, Akbar A. | Abd-Elhamid, Hany

Saltwater intrusion (SWI) is a type of pollution that adversely affects the quality of groundwater in coastal aquifers. The Nile Delta aquifer (NDA) in Egypt contains a large amount of freshwater. Increasing abstraction from the aquifer and sea level rise have led to an increase in SWI, which has reached up to 100 km inland. Therefore, practical measures are required to prevent further SWI. This study aims to identify an optimal well system to manage the intrusion of saline water in NDA using a number of management systems, including pumping of brackish water, aquifer recharge, and abstraction of the freshwater. SEAWAT code is used to simulate SWI in the aquifer considering different scenarios of pumping and sea level rise. Four scenarios are used to control SWI, including: decreasing pumping from the aquifer, increasing recharge using treated waste water, increasing abstraction of brackish water for desalination, and a combination of these systems. The results showed that increasing recharge could lead to greater retardation of SWI (19.5%) than decreasing pumping (6.2%) and abstraction of brackish water (5.9%). However, a combined well system of pumping, recharge and abstraction is shown to be a more effective tool to control SWI in coastal aquifers, with retardation percentage of 21.3%.

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