ABSTRACT
The 'rising groundwater level' in the new reclaimed areas has become a major concern all in Egypt. Due to the increasing level of groundwater, it is not only endangering the structures and properties but also causing major environmental problem affecting the health of the area, habitats, and the biotic of the land community. The groundwater level gets seriously affected due to increasing pressure of various man-made activities. Once the natural flow of the groundwater is affected, it can result in raising the level or lessen the level creating large number of environmental problems. The authors propose an interdisciplinary planning strategy to deal with the issue of rising groundwater level. In the concerned area, fifteen peizometers are drilled to investigate the rising in groundwater level. Detailed topographical and brief hydrogeological analyses had been carried out. The strata supplying groundwater In the area are the Quaternary strata (Holocene and Pleistocene). The Holocene shallow sandy aquifer dominated the area of study, where all drilled peizometers tap this aquifer. The daily seepage from excess irrigation water may represent the main contributor of groundwater rising in the shallow aquifer. Moreover, seepage from south El Qantara canal and the municipal water supply system leakages further raise the groundwater level. The groundwater exists in the south at depth of 9 m below the ground surface and sometimes the water appears on the surface causing water logging especially in the north and northeastern parts of the area The groundwater quality grades from fresh to brackish water where the total dissolved solids ranges from 1,019 to 32,000 mg/l. The dewatering system in the study area may be suggested as a solution to overcome the problem.
