Management of water and salinity in the Nile Delta: A ... - ICARDA

Management of water and salinity in the Nile Delta: A cross-scale integrated analysis of
efficiency and equity issues
TOPIC:
Modeling of the central Nile Delta water and salt balances under different scenarios
Background: The Nile Delta covers an agricultural area of approximately 2.5 million ha,
irrigated by a dense network of waterways, including 40,000 km of canals that branch off the
Nile River and convey water to over 2 million farmers across several nested geographical
scales and institutional levels. The delta is divided in three independent ‘slices’ (left, center
and right). Conventional irrigation efficiency at the on-farm level is relatively low on average
(irrigation is conducted by gravity), but the intensity of water reuse (from drains and wells)
drastically increases macro-level efficiency. At present, approximately one third of the Nile
water passing through Cairo is pumped out to the coastal lagoons or the sea. However the
water balance cannot be discussed without the corresponding salt balance and a large part
of this outflow is necessary to control water quality (both in terms of salt and pollution
loads) in the northern extremity of the delta, but also in the aquaculture areas and lagoons
‘downstream’ of it.
The circulation of water and salt loads in this maze of canals and drains is the result of what
the different actors situated at different nested levels in the delta do (and do not do).
Macro-level management decisions, but also tertiary level and on-farm water management
practices result in different circulation patterns. The complexity of these water
quantity/quality and cross-scale interactions can only be comprehended through some
modeling approach.
The NWRC and Dutch scientists have, 10 years ago, developed a model (SIWARE) that aimed
at studying water and salt balances in each of the three parts of the delta. The research
project “Management of water and salinity in the Nile Delta: A cross-scale integrated
analysis of efficiency and equity issues”, Manged by ICARDA and funded by the government
of Australia, has planned several research activities looking at water management practices
and salt balances at the on-farm, tertiary (mesqa), secondary (branch canals) and main canal
levels,; as well as at the aquaculture area and the lagoon. These activities will produce a
wealth of new information that will allow further development and refinement of past
modeling endeavors.
Research topic:
This PhD research will be centered on the further development of the SIWARE software, in
order to refine the understanding and modeling of the central part of the delta (area
between the Rosetta and Damieta branches). This will include in particular updating and
improving the quality of physical parameters (eg canal cross sections and profiles), the
representation of reuse (from drains and from wells), the impact of the status of the
subsurface drainage system (notoriously underperforming because of clogging), the
introduction of rotational management, and the coupling with a groundwater module
(MODFLOW).

The software developed will be used to model irrigation and drainage in the central part of
the delta under a range of scenarios. These scenarios will include key policies/developments,
most notably: controlling rice cultivation, plausible shifts in cropping patterns (e.g. cotton
becoming attractive), reducing water diversions to the delta (e.g. if it is found that the IIP
project reduces abstraction), pumping of drainage water back to canals (notably if pollution
is treated and more water can be reused), degradation of subsurface drainage or poor
maintenance in waterways etc.
The model will indicate possible outcomes and allow us to assess the twinned phenomena of
increased efficiency of macro-level water use and water-quality degradation associated with
successive reuses of water (with a critical assessment and discussion of the values and
meanings of ‘efficiency’ at various nested scales and estimates of the intensity of multiple
use/recycling). Coupled with the water/salt balance of the aquaculture area and the lagoon,
the model will provide us with a tool to re-evaluate the overall water/salt balance of the
central delta, the sustainability of the lake fisheries under various scenarios, the role of fish
ponds in concentrating salts but also in controlling underground seawater intrusion, and
eventually the margin for macro-level water savings, under constraints of water quality. This
will lead to a reconsideration of earlier rough attempts to estimate the minimum outflow of
the delta and, therefore, how much water can potentially be “saved” and diverted to new
Lands.
Benefits: NWRC/IWMI offer a highly competitive scholarship under activities of the Water &
Salinity Management in Nile Delta Project managed by ICARDA and funded by the Australian
Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
The student will be registered in Wageningen University, The Netherlands, starting in
September 2013, will benefit from the support of scientists involved earlier in the
development of SIWARE, and receive a scholarship from the Dutch Government. Field work
expenditures will be covered by the Australian-funded project. Supervision will be assured
by Wageningen university advisors, on the one hand, and by scientists at the National Water
Research Center and International Water Management Institute, on the other.
Requirements: Candidates must be of Egyptian nationality, have a master degree in the field
of irrigation or water management engineering, or water sciences, and be able to
demonstrate good English proficiency and strong computer skills. They may be young
graduate students, faculty staff, or researcher in a national research center on water or
agricultural engineering. Good command of English is mandatory.
How to apply: Send your C.V along with supporting documents including two
recommendation letters from your university to: François Molle, IWMI, f.molle@cgiar.org, or
Talaat El Gamal, WMRI, elgamalt@yahoo.com
Closing date: 28 February 2013