Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt. Aswan Water and Sanitation Company, Aswan, Egypt.
This paper examines the rise in the level of the groundwater in the Quaternary aquifer at Aswan city, Upper Egypt. Since the 1960’s, the areal extent of Aswan City and the urban populations are growing at a high pace which introduces new sources of water that increase groundwater recharge. As a result of leakages or infiltrations from different sources, the natural groundwater balance is overturned into an unbalance where the input to water table is comparatively much more than the natural groundwater flow towards the Nile River. The present study shows a variation in the groundwater level, from 1971 up to 2014, where the water table rising ranges between 12.55 and 13.69 m. Also, it shows an abrupt increase in the water levels in 2010 continuing up till now. The groundwater rising phenomena that happened in 2010 can be directly refereed to the cessation of groundwater pumping from El-Shallal wells, and to the reduction of pumping from KIMA factory wells. Generally, the rate of water rising is much higher in the western side of the city and in Kima factory area, where they are characterized by low relief and dense population. The most troublesome groundwater mounds under urban areas are likely to develop in low-lying areas of relatively high permeability aquifer, which is not exploited for water supply. These damages will become more widespread if the rising groundwater table remains uncontrolled. The environmental impact of the water rising includes: forming ponds in low lying areas (Kima and El Shallal ponds), flooding building’s basements, and inundating underground infrastructure. A general deterioration in groundwater quality was identified.
Selim, S. , Hamdan, A. and Rady, A. (2014) Groundwater Rising as Environmental Problem, Causes and Solutions: Case Study from Aswan City, Upper Egypt. Open Journal of Geology, 4, 324-341. doi: 10.4236/ojg.2014.47025.
[1] Heiken, G., Fakundiny, R. and Sutter, J. (2003) Earth Science in the City. American Geophysical Union Special Publication Series, 56, 440 p. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/056SP [2] Attia, M.L. (1954) Deposits in the Nile Valley and the Delta. Geological Survey, Egypt, Cairo, 356 p. [3] Said, R. (1962) The Geology of Egypt. Elsevier Publishing Company, Amesterdam, 337 p. [4] Said, R. (1981) The Geological Evolution of the River Nile. Springer-Verlag, New York, 151 p. [5] Butzer, K.W. and Hanson, C.L. (1968) Desert and River in Nubia. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 562. [6] El Ramly, I.M. (1973) Geomorphology, Hydrogeology, Planning for Groundwater Resources and Land Reclamation in Lake Nasser Region and Its Environs. Report from Desert Research Institute to Lake Nasser Development Center Aswan, Cairo. [7] El Shazly, E.M., Adel Hady, M.A., El Ghaay, M.A. and El Kassas, I.A. (1974) Geological Interpretation of ERTS-1 Satallite Images for West Aswan Area, Egypt. Proceeding of the Ninth International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, Michigan, 15-19 April 1974, 119-131. [8] Van Houten, F.B. and Bhattacharyya, D.P. (1979) Late Cretaceous Nubia Formation at Aswan South Eastern Desert, Egypt. Annals Geological Survey, IX, 408-431. [9] Issawi, B. (1981) Geology of the Southwestern Desert of Egypt. Geological Survey, Egypt, Cairo, XI, 57-66. [10] Barber, W. and Carr, D. P. (1981) Water Management Capabilities of the Alluvial Aquifer System of the Nile Valley, Upper Egypt. Technical Report No. 11, Water Master Plane, Ministry of Irrigation, Cairo, Egypt. [11] Issawi, B. and Jux, U. (1982) Contribution to the Stratigraphy of the Paleozoic Rocks in Egypt. Geological Survey, Egypt, Cairo, Vol. 64, 1-28. [12] Klitzsch, E.H. and Wycisk, P. (1987) Geology of the Sedimentary Basins of Northern Sudan and Bordering Areas. Berliner Geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, Reihe A, 75, 97-136. [13] RIGW (1988) Hydrogeological Map of Egypt. First Edition, Scale 1:2000,000, Research Institute for Groundwater, Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources, Cairo, Egypt. [14] Selim S. (1995) Geological and Hydrogeological Studies of the Quaternary Aquifer in Aswan Town Area, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Geology, 39, 631-645. [15] Hamdan, A. and Abdel Rady A. (2013) Vulnerability of the Groundwater in the Quaternary Aquifer at El Shalal-Kema Area, Aswan, Egypt. Arab Journal of Geoscience, 6, 337-358.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12517-011-0363-y [16] Gheorhge, A. (1979) Processing and Synthesis of Hydrogeological Data. Abacus Press, Preston, 390 P.