Groundwater management in delta

Egypt needs to triple its agricultural production while the Nile water is regarded as a limited and precious resource. The increase of agricultural production has to be achieved mainly in the Nile valley and Delta.Although groundwater in the Nile valley and Delta is not an additional resource besides the Nile water resource, the increase of groundwater usage is important from an economical point of view. Due to the advancement of the computer in the last decade, mathematical models have become powerful tools. They give an accurate and fast answer for different problems that may not have a manual traditional solution.The numerical groundwater flow simulation package MODFLOW is used to simulate the aquifer system of Abu-Kebier area. MODFLOW is a software package based on the finite element technique. It is used for quasi three-dimensional simulation of both steady state and transient groundwater flow in multilayered aquifer systems. The program is capable of taking into consideration, the interaction between groundwater and surface water in the canals and drains system within Abu-Kebier zone.The command area is hydraulically connected with the aquifer system. The model was calibrated to simulate the real system of the study area and the calculated results showed acceptable agreement with the average annually observed groundwater tables. Also, it was considered worthwhile to extend this study to simulate the using of groundwater as an alternative resource besides the surface water by the software package OPDM program ”Operational and Planning Distribution Model” with the aim of obtaining more information about the changes on growth revenue for each crop, salinity, and system inflow and outflow.The results of applying the models showed that it’s better to manage the water resources by using both surface water and groundwater conjunctively through a system of wells.The results also, suggested applying the policy of using 30% of the agriculture demand from groundwater for long term safely in Abu-Kebier groundwater aquifer. If there is a need to use more than 30% from the groundwater aquifer, this options should be under constrains in some areas. Taking into consideration that the well location:1. The distance between any well and the adjacent canal should not be more than one kilometer.2. The distance between Any well and the intake of any canal, it lies beside it should not exceed the range (500m: 1km) according to the area>