Proposing the Optimum Withdrawing Scenarios to Provide the Western Coastal Area of Port Said, Egypt, with Sufficient Groundwater with Less Salinity

Abstract

Recently, groundwater resources in Egypt have become one of the important sources to meet human needs and activities, especially in coastal areas such as the western area of Port Said, where seawater desalination cannot be used due to the problem of oil spill and the reliance upon groundwater resources. Thus, the purpose of the study is the sustainable management of the groundwater resources in the coastal aquifer entailing groundwater abstraction. In this regard, the Visual MODFLOW and SEAWAT codes were used to simulate groundwater flow and seawater intrusion in the study area for 50 years (from 2018 to 2068) to predict the drawdown, as well as the salinity distribution due to the pumping of the wells on the groundwater coastal aquifer based on field investigation data and numerical modelling. Different well scenarios were used, such as the change in well abstraction rate, the different numbers of abstraction wells, the spacing between the abstraction wells and the change in screen depth in abstraction. The recommended scenarios were selected after comparing the predicted drawdown and salinity results for each scenario to minimize the seawater intrusion and preserve these resources from degradation.

Hydrogeophysical and Hydrochemical Assessment of the Northeastern Coastal Aquifer of Egypt for Desalination Suitability

“…The Holocene sediments are extensively distributed, with a maximum thickness of 77 m [42]. Furthermore, the thickness of the Quaternary deposits increases northward, reaching 250 m in the south and 1000 m in the north [43]. Quaternary sediments are definitely present in the studied region [42].…”

Advances in Urban Groundwater and Sustainable Water Resources Management and Planning: Insights for Improved Designs with Nature, Hazards, and Society

“…Zeferino et al [46] present a study to delineate the effectiveness of well-head protection areas after long-term applications on public supplies with continuous pumping located in a densely populated urban area of Montijo municipality (SW Portugal). (iv) A set of papers [47][48][49] underlining several case studies on numerical analysis and modelling of groundwater resources management. Liu et al [47] describe a model for analysing the development pattern of water resource's carrying capacity by examining the water conservancy in Jilin Province (NE China).…”

“…The lessons learned could be applied to other regions. Krishan et al [48] present a comprehensive study of hydrogeochemistry processes in the groundwater system salinity of the Mewat region, Haryana province (NW India). The outcomes of this study will be useful in managing and remedying groundwater systems.…”