Background: The expected deficit of the Egyptian share of the River Nile budget with the construction of the Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia necessitates a proper utilization of the water resources in the Nile Valley. The present study aims at characterizing the chemical and bacteriological compositions of the groundwater in the Quaternary and Eocene fractured limestone aquifers in Assuit Governorate as a suggested scheme for the groundwater quality evaluation in the Egyptian River Nile basin. Results: We analyzed 92 samples collected from shallow boreholes within 15 km on both sides of the River Nile for major, minor, and trace ions and compared the results to the national and international standards for drinking water. Some chemical data were collected from Assiut Drinking Water Station while some other samples were analyzed chemically and bacteriological in the Laboratories of Science and agriculture faculties and the laboratories of Assiut Drinking & sanitation Company. The groundwater composition is seasonally variable depending on the variation in the local surface water (level composition). The results of bacteriological examination show that the highest most probable number of total coliform was found 5.9 MPN/100 ml and the minimum value of MPN of total coliform was found 1.1 MPN/100 ml. Groundwater potentiality and evaluation for drinking and domestic uses depend on several parameters which must be taken into consideration. Conclusions: The current research concluded that the GIS-based water potentiality spatial model (WPSM) indicated that the northwest part and southeast part represented the highest and lowest potentiality respectively for drinking water purposes. The suggested scheme in this study could be a valid tool to evaluate the water quality in the River Nile basin and similar settings worldwide.

Background: Kima company is located east of the river Nile, 2.5 km south of Aswan City. The Quaternary sands and gravels represent the main groundwater aquifer in the area. It is mainly recharged from the river Nile seepage between the high and the old Aswan Dams. Some water seepage comes from the fish hatchery canal close to the area. The objective is to study the temporal-spatial development of the drainage ponds resulting from the rise of the groundwater level in line with the agricultural and urban development in and around the Kima plant area using chemical analysis and advanced technology (remote sensing and GIS techniques). Results: Many wells were drilled and used to pump the groundwater in and south of the area, from which 15 wells that were used to feed Aswan city by drinking water were stopped since 2009. As result, the groundwater level rises and most of the wells of Kima company flooded. The groundwater quality deteriorated and some environmental changes in the surrounding area were detected. Monitoring and analysis of these changes are studied using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The results show an increase in both the surface water bodies (ponds) and urban areas. Conclusions: Since 2009, 15 productive drinking water wells were ceased in the study area. It is the main reason which caused more rising of the groundwater level accompanied by increasing of its salinity. The study detected and calculated the area influenced by the groundwater seepage, urbanization, and the agricultural reclamation areas. The successive changes in these parameters throughout the period 2007-2017 are calculated. Rising groundwater levels are expected to be a chronic problem and will likely be a major issue for residential areas of Aswan city.

In this study, an integrated suite of Remote Sensing (RS) data and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques supported by fieldwork is used to assess the sand dunes movement hazards at El-Kharga Oasis. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data obtained from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER) were integrated with GIS techniques to model the vulnerable locations and to study the terrain characteristics (slope angles and aspects) in the studied area. The risk assessment model output was verified with the field investigations using multi-temporal satellite images recorded between 1990 and 2019. Monthly wind roses showed that the sand drifts in the southeastern direction differed widely from one direction to another depending on the wind direction and velocity. The most important output of the spatial model’s, results was a geo-hazard map that classified the sand dunes hazard zones into low, slight, moderate, and high-risk zones. It is concluded that, the sand dunes pose a serious hazard because of their fast movement and accumulation near the monumental sites, over roads and invading the agricultural fields. The obtained results can serve as a basis for planners and decision-makers to take the necessary precautions and measures to minimize the sand dune hazard’s impact on the monumental sites (e.g., Hibis, El-Nadura, El-Ghueita and El-Zayyan), roads, and the agricultural fields at El-Kharga Oasis and lead to a sustainable development plan. Keywords Environmental Hazards; Sand Dunes Movement; Remote Sensing; Risk Assessment, Egypt

One of the important projects that the Egypt country seeks to implement is the desert areas development, which contributes significantly to agricultural and urban development. Development of desert areas, especially agricultural development, should be carried out scientifically in terms of the use of available water resources, irrigation methods according to the type of soil and taking the geo-environmental risks into consideration. The objective of this research is to assess the geoenvironmental impact in the region under consideration and their effect on their natural components during their development phases. Estimating the rate of land-use/land-cover changes in the area is extremely important for the management of natural resources. Remote sensing and GIS techniques have been used to process the geological, topographical, landuse/land-cover and also locating high-risk areas that could be affected by flash flooding. This study showed that the study area comprises three land-cover classes: urban, agricultural and barren land. The expansion in the agricultural and residential areas was estimated from the Landsat satellite images from 1984 to 2018. The results had deduced the reasons for increasing the agricultural area and the validity of the western plateau lands for agricultural reclamation as well as land investment for residential projects such as Nasser city. The results indicate that the vegetated land increased by 9.68% and urban land by 3.17% after reclamation efforts were initiated.Keywords Geo-environment Á Geology Á Land use/land cover Á GIS and remote sensing Á Change detection Á Development