The Role of Artificial Recharge of Aquifers in Water Resources Management in Egypt

By 2050, the gap between Egypt's renewable water resources supplies and demands will grow by more than twofolds from 23 BCM in 2022 to approximately 50 BCM. Closing such a big water supply and demand gap will be challenging and expensive. The availability of water resources plays a crucial role in driving Egypt's economic development and facilitating rapid growth across multiple sectors. Currently, around 82% of the country's water demand is met through the utilization of surface water, while approximately 12% is fulfilled by groundwater sources. The remaining 6% comes from the reuse of agriculture drainage water and treated sewage effluent. Managing demand, particularly for agricultural water use, which uses more than 85% of the total water use in Egypt, must be given priority by planners and decision-makers. Failure to reduce the water demand in various sectors and curb uneconomic agricultural use will have severe socioeconomic repercussions. Once renewable freshwater resources are depleted, the most significant source of new water will be desalination of seawater and brackish groundwater or reusing of treated sewage effluent. Artificial rechargeArtificial recharge of aquifersAquifers using conventional water resources such as rainfall or surplus overland flow or treated wastewater is an important tool for managing the scarce water resources in Egypt. Several projects on artificial rechargeArtificial recharge of aquifersAquifers were carried out in Egypt using surface water, rainfall, and treated sewage effluent. Artificial rechargeArtificial recharge is an essential element of the National Water Plan for building up strategic water reserves, controlling declining groundwater levels, enhancing deteriorated groundwater quality, and improving water management.