Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Ain Shams Engineering Journal

journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com

Review of artificial recharge prospects for augmentation of groundwater

in Egypt: A case study of El Bustan extension area
Manal Abd El Moneam
Research Institute for Groundwater, National Water Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Artificial recharge (AR) is the process whereby surface water is directed purposely underground to aug-
Received 11 May 2022 ment natural replenishment of groundwater reserves. During the period 1996–1998, the Research
Revised 29 August 2022 Institute for Groundwater started artificial recharge using infiltration basins in El Bustan experimental
Accepted 21 September 2022
station in the western Nile Delta region. Recently, during the period 2020–2021, artificial recharge activ-
Available online xxxx
ities have been resumed in the experimental station. In this work, changes in hydrological conditions
affecting the experimental station since its inception are reviewed and assessed. Artificial recharge using
Keywords:
the infiltration basin are then applied, where results of these experiments are evaluated and compared to
Groundwater
Artificial recharge
the previous ones. This is achieved with the objective of making an updated evaluation of the prospects of
Infiltration basin artificial recharge considering the changes in hydrological conditions. The study revealed that rise of
Nile Delta groundwater levels is the major change affecting aquifer conditions in the study area. Such progressive
rise of groundwater levels resulted in reducing the vadose zone thickness by more than 50% of its original
thickness in 1996. This rise is attributed to uncontrolled recharge due seepage from nearby canals and
irrigation return flow in the western Nile Delta region for the past 25 years. In view of the impacts of
uncontrolled recharge, it is concluded that future work should shift from AR to managed aquifer recharge
(MAR) to store water in the aquifer for subsequent recovery. It is recommended that further studies
should use numerical modeling for exploring MAR schemes that can sustain the aquifer hydrologic equi-
librium. Such MAR schemes should facilitate conjunctive use of surface and groundwater for improved
water use management in the western Nile Delta region.
Ó 2022 THE AUTHOR. Published by Elsevier BV on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/4.0/).

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Study area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1. The climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Hydrogeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4. Uncontrolled recharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5. Controlled artificial recharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5.1. Design and Construction of the experimental station. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5.2. Infiltration experiments in 1996–1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5.2. Infiltration experiments in 1996–1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.3. Infiltration experiments in 2020–2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Peer review under responsibility of Ain Shams University.

Production and hosting by Elsevier

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2022.101995
2090-4479/Ó 2022 THE AUTHOR. Published by Elsevier BV on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article as: M.A. El Moneam, Review of artificial recharge prospects for augmentation of groundwater in Egypt: A case study of El Bustan
extension area, Ain Shams Engineering Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2022.101995
M.A. El Moneam Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx

6. Results and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

6.1. Uncontrolled artificial recharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
6.2. Controlled artificial recharge 1996–1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
6.3. Controlled artificial recharge 2020–2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
7. Conclusions and recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Declaration of Competing Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1. Introduction different AR techniques in experimental stations located in various

parts of the country during the period 1996–1998 [23–24]. [18]
Groundwater in arid/semiarid regions plays crucial roles in pro- Presented the results of applying artificial recharge using infiltra-
viding water supply, supporting irrigated agriculture, and sustain- tion basin in El Bustan extension area in 1996 and concluded that
ing ecosystems. Abstracted groundwater is initially balanced by it had a positive effect in protecting the aquifer from depletion.
depletion of groundwater storage. On a medium term, storage Recently, during the period 2020–2021, the experimental sta-
depletion is gradually replaced by capture, which is the balance tion in El Bustan extension area is selected to resume AR activities,
of natural discharge and induced groundwater recharge. The in the framework of the national plan to review the prospects of AR
replenishment of groundwater in nature is maintained by recharg- for augmentation of groundwater in Egypt. In this study, changes
ing. The major sources of natural recharge are infiltration of rain- in hydrogeological conditions affecting the experimental station
fall, recharge along watercourses, lakes, irrigation return flow, since its inception are reviewed and assessed. AR is then applied
and seepage through subsurface flow by natural hydraulic gradient with the objective of making an updated evaluation of the pro-
[19]. On the longer term, excessive pumping exceeding the poten- spects of AR considering of the changes of hydrological conditions
tial capture can overdraw the aquifer storage causing continued in the past three decades.
decline of groundwater levels.
One method of controlling declining water levels is by using
2. Study area
artificial groundwater recharge. Artificial recharge (AR) is the pro-
cess whereby surface water is directed purposely underground to
The experimental station of El Bustan extension area is located
be stored in an aquifer to augment natural replenishment of
in the western Nile Delta region, about 150 km Northwest of Cairo.
groundwater reserves, and to restore aquifer systems. However,
It lies between the 30° 320 2000 and 30° 320 3500 N and between the
uncontrolled and unintentional recharge induced by human activ-
30° 210 3500 and 30° 210 0500 E, as shown in Fig. 1. The main source of
ities could cause water logging, and groundwater contamination.
water for the site is surface water from a branch canal taking from
Historically, techniques of artificial aquifer recharge have been
El Bustan canal. The cultivated areas surrounding the station site
used towards the end of the 19th century, where the first infiltra-
depend on surface water irrigation through modern irrigation
tion basins in Europe appeared in 1897 in Sweden and in 1899 in
methods. The study area is characterized by plain topography with
France [7]. Inclusive guidance on the hydrogeology and engineer-
average elevation of 30 m above mean sea level (AMSL).
ing aspects of groundwater AR was provided by [5]. The wide range
of objectives and benefits of applying methods to enhance the
recharge of aquifers is discussed in [6]. A comprehensive review 2.1. The climate
of the current knowledge on artificial groundwater recharge can
be found in [14]. The work of [10] is an example of the application It corresponds to the climatic conditions of the West Nile Delta
of groundwater simulation models to evaluate the applicability region, which is characterized by arid climatic conditions with a
and effectiveness of artificial recharge scenarios. The use of artifi- low annual rainfall, high temperatures during daytime and high
cial recharge has already been globally recognized as a way of rate of evaporation. The rainfall only in winter season, its rate
increasing groundwater levels and improving water quality in dif- ranges from 4 to 18 mm with duration from 1 to 3 days. The tem-
ferent groundwater aquifers [11]. [21] used the Multi-objective perature varies from 10ͦc in winter to 43ͦc in summer. Evaporation
modeling platform to optimize the use of surface and groundwater rates are high and reach values of 3,500 mm/year [23].
resources and artificial recharge systems, in order to increase the
sustainability of the water resource and reduce water and environ-
3. Hydrogeology
mental issues.. [22] Studied the impacts of vadose zone factors on
artificial recharge via the infiltration basin using modeling applica-
Generally, the subsurface in the El Bustan Extension Area is
tion. Several studies have been conducted using Managed Aquifer
dominated by fluviatile sand and gravel with thin interbeds of clay
Recharge (MAR) method to increase water availability through
and silt, deposited during the Quaternary. This layer has a maxi-
subsurface infiltration and storage, to overcome periods of
mum thickness of about 200 m and is underlain by Tertiary marine
drought, and to stabilize or even reverse salinization of coastal
clay and overlain by lagoonal gypseous clay and/or calcareous
aquifers. [3,8,13,15,16,17,20].
loam and shifting sands. The water in this aquifer exists under
Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) con-
semi-confined or phreatic conditions. Hydrogeological cross sec-
siders AR in the national water resources plan as an important ele-
tion passing El Bustan station site is shown in Fig. 2. The transmis-
ment of strategic water storage to augment the potential of
sivity of the aquifer varies from 500 m2/day in the southwest to
groundwater use, to improve water quality and to enhance sus-
5,000 m2/day in the east and northeast [23]. According to RIGW
tainable management of groundwater resources. These objectives
reported monitoring in 1996, the depth to groundwater from
can only be achieved if AR is applied in a controlled manner. There-
ground surface in the western Nile Delta region was found to vary
fore, the MWRI launched the Artificial Recharge Program in 1993.
from less than 2 m in the north along the Nubariya canal to about
Accordingly, the Research Institute for Groundwater (RIGW) exe-
40 m south of El Bustan area, and the salinity of groundwater in the
cuted experiments on artificially recharging groundwater using
study area was about 1,000 ppm, increasing northwards [23].
2
M.A. El Moneam Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 1. Location of El Bustan extension study area.

Fig. 2. Hydrogeological cross section passing El Bustan station.

4. Uncontrolled recharge
Uncontrolled recharge is an unintentional recharge related to
human activities. In rural areas, such recharge takes place through
leakage from canals and irrigation return flows and it is also inci-
dental to changes in land use and land cover. Uncontrolled
recharge results in rising groundwater levels. In Egypt, irrigation
return flows from large-scale irrigation projects in the fringes of
the Nile Valley and Delta have been the main source of uncon-
trolled recharge of aquifers, causing rising groundwater levels

3
M.A. El Moneam Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 3. Groundwater level rise (m) in the western Nile Delta (1960–1990).

Table 1
Depth to and level of groundwater in the basin center (2021).

Basin Center Group Wells (GW) G1 G2 G3

(G.no/W. no) 1/1 1/2 1/3 2/1 2/2 2/3 3/1 3/2 3/3
Screen Depth (m) 140 86 72 105 58 38 50 30 25
Depth to groundwater (m) 14.21 14.22 14.37 14.4 14.26 14.31 14.23 14.05 14.14
Groundwater level (m) AMSL 16.28 16.265 16.26 16.31 16.27 16.255 16.26 16.26 16.25

Table 2
Depth to and level of groundwater in the experimental station (2021).

Well Name W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 PW
Depth to groundwater (m) 14.81 15.03 16.46 17.18 14.85 14.656 14.557 14.52 16.32
Groundwater level (m) AMSL 15.99 16.236 16.195 16.22 16.07 16.419 16.318 16.49 16.245

[19]. The majority of these agricultural expansion projects used
traditional flood irrigation for decades before converting latter to
modern irrigation methods. Such projects have been vulnerable
to water logging and salinization problems because of the consid-
erable amounts of percolated excess irrigation and absence of ade-
quate agricultural drainage, causing groundwater mounding.
An example of this uncontrolled artificial recharge is the Western
Nile Delta fringes Fig. 3, where the rise of groundwater levels
reached a maximum of 20 m through the period from 1960 to
1990 [2]. As depicted from Fig. 3, the effect of such irrational irriga-
tion practices expanded to reach El Bustan extension area, which is
approximately 30 km south-east of the agricultural expansion pro-
ject. Hence, the groundwater levels at the experimental station were
raised by about 2 m during the same period from 1960 to 1990.
Major changes affecting hydrological conditions in El Bustan
extension area is essentially attributed to the rise of groundwater
levels due to uncontrolled recharge from irrigation return flows
and seepage from nearby canals in the western Nile Delta region.
In this work, these, changes since the inception of El Bustan exper-
imental station in 1996, have been reviewed, and assessed, where
recent monitoring of groundwater level and salinity in 2021 are
compared to compiled previous monitoring records. Depth to
groundwater from ground surface and groundwater levels in the
multi-depth group of observation wells (GW) in the center of the
infiltration basin in 2021 are listed in Table 1. Depth to groundwa-
ter from ground surface and groundwater levels in the observation
wells (W1, W2,..) covering the experimental station in 2021 are
given in Table 2. Accordingly, the depth to groundwater table in
the study area is found to be about 10 m less than that in 1996.
where the average groundwater level, during the past 25 years,
increased from 6.50 to 16.27 AMSL. On the other hand, groundwa-
ter salinity has had a progressive increase from 1000 ppm in 1996
to 1064, 2400, 2470, 2540 ppm in the years 2007, 2013, 2020, and
2021, respectively.

4
M.A. El Moneam
Fig. 4. Layout of El Bustan experimental station.
5. Controlled artificial recharge
5.1. Design and Construction of the experimental station
Construction of El Bustan experimental station started in 1995.
Site selection of the infiltration basin was based on regional and
local field investigations, comprising regional and local drilling of
boreholes and observation wells, geo-electrical prospecting, and
Electro-magnetic profiling. The investigations confirmed the gen-
eral hydrogeology and also revealed the existence of clay and cal-
crete layers (hardpans). The design of the infiltration basin was
originally based on the following criteria:
A substantial amount of water (around one million cubic
meters) should be infiltrated within a period of 60–90 days, which
corresponds to a prolonged flood period or a rainy winter period.
Increase in groundwater levels should be clearly observable and
distinct from normal variations (>0.2 m).
The basin was constructed such that: the bottom of the basin is
155 m by 135 m and the exterior area of the basin is 185 m by
170 m, with 2.5 m average depth. The inlet to the basin consists
of a normal gate followed by two pipelines of 0.5 m diameter,
which can be closed by a valve. The water then comes in a deposi-
tion and energy dissipation reservoir, from where it is led to the
basin through an open channel. Monitoring network and measur-
ing facilities were also installed. Construction of the experimental
station was completed in January 1996. Fig. 4 illustrates the gen-
eral layout of the experimental station [24].
5.2. Infiltration experiments in 1996–1998
In the mid-nineties, the Research Institute for Groundwater
(RIGW) started experiments on artificially recharging groundwater
5
Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx
in Egypt. Three infiltration experiments have been performed in
1996. Each experiment was composed of several infiltration cycles
of filling / emptying the experimental basin. For each infiltration
cycles the basin was first filled to a high-water level (1.1 m at
the basin middle) in three days. Subsequently the intake was
stopped for one day, during which the infiltration rate could be
easily determined (rate of decline of head in the basin minus the
evaporation). The first infiltration experiment started in January
1996 and lasted for 14 days. The second infiltration experiment
started in March and lasted for 38 days. The third experiment
started on 4 June and lasted for 46 days. The bottom of the basin
was scraped before starting both experiments. In 1997 three long
infiltration periods of two and three months were also applied
[21–24].
A monitoring program is executed for detecting the fluctuation
of the groundwater by nine screens at different depths at the cen-
ter of the basin, and 12 observation wells covering the experimen-
tal station. At larger distance other observation wells are used to
monitor the natural groundwater fluctuations. Based on the 1996
experiments, it was concluded that under normal operation it
seems possible to control the clogging of the basin by maintaining
sufficient turbulence in the basin. To test these hypotheses, the
basin was scraped and 26 gullies of 2 m wide and 1 m deep were
constructed in a diagonal direction perpendicular to the main wind
direction. A new infiltration test was executed in June-July 1998
with the gully system. [21–24].
5.3. Infiltration experiments in 2020–2021
Recently, in the framework of the national plan to review the
prospects of controlled AR for augmentation of groundwater in
Egypt. In 2020, RIGW conducted inspection and restoration of the
M.A. El Moneam
AR facilities in the experimental station in El Bustan extension area
to ensure proper functioning to resume AR activities. In 2021, due
to limited availability of feed water, RIGW applied AR by conduct-
ing three short-term infiltration experiments (filling/emptying
cycles), where each experiment lasted for 3 days.
For all experiments, the water level was measured continuously
in the basin. The supplied water flow rate is monitored and main-
tained at a constant rate. During the phase of filling, the basin
water level increased up to the maximum level allowed (1 m at
the basin middle) and then water supply is stopped. Then water
level in the basin progressively decreased as the result of water
infiltration (basin emptying), and the infiltration rate was deter-
mined (rate of decline of head in the basin minus the evaporation).
The first infiltration experiment started on 7 October 2021, the
second experiment started on 24 October 2021, and the third
experiment started on 12 November 2021. The bottom of the basin
was scraped before starting the third experiment. During the three
experiments, a monitoring program is executed for detecting the
fluctuation of groundwater in nine screens at different depths at
the center of the basin (GW) (Table 1), and 9 observation wells
(W1, W2,..etc.) covering the experimental station (Table 2). The
fluctuations in groundwater level were automatically recorded
using data logger (every 2 h), and the evaporation rate were mea-
sured beside the basin.
6. Results and discussion
6.1. Uncontrolled artificial recharge
Agricultural expansion projects in the western Nile Delta region
initiated in the 19600 s provide an obvious example of uncontrolled
artificial recharge of groundwater. In the mid 19700 s, during the
first 15 years after reclamation, with the absence of agricultural
drainage, estimated groundwater recharge rate exceeded
150 mm/year. In this period, the total groundwater recharge was
estimated at about 6.5 BCM, where the corresponding rise of the
Fig. 5. Pre-Experiments Groundwater Level in El Bustan Station (2021).
6
Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx
groundwater table reached a maximum of 20 m [2]. Following
the introduction of agricultural drainage, the groundwater
recharge rate is reduced to about 50 mm/year, and the resulting
groundwater outflow to the surrounding areas is about 100
MCM/year [2].
Groundwater mounds formed through uncontrolled recharge
can be considered strategic reserves that should be considered in
the integrated management of groundwater resources. The effect
of this outflow in El Bustan extension area has been manifested
by the observed progressive and continuous rise of groundwater
levels. The average groundwater level in the area of El Bustan
experimental station increased from about 6 m in 1990 to about
16.3 m AMSL in 2021. Fig. 5 shows contour map of the 2021 pre-
experiments groundwater levels in El Bustan extension area, indi-
cating a northwest to southeast groundwater flow direction influ-
enced mainly by the regional outflow from the large-scale
irrigation projects in the western Nile Delta fringes as well as the
local return flow from surrounding irrigated agriculture.
6.2. Controlled artificial recharge 1996–1998
Three infiltration experiments have been conducted in 1996.
Each experiment was composed of several infiltration cycles of fill-
ing / emptying the experimental basin, applied over 14, 38 and
46 days for the first, second, and third experiment, respectively.
During these three experiments a total of 0.24 MCM were infil-
trated in the El Bustan experimental station [21–24]. Infiltration
rate (IR) in the first and third experiment in 1996 started at about
0.3 m/day and dropped to 0.15 m/day within 15 days. After 25 days
a final infiltration rate of about 0.1 m/day was reached [18]. This
decline in infiltration rate is attributed to the combined effect of
unsaturated flow capacity in the vadose zone and the formation
of a thin layer of fine sediments in the bottom of the basin from
suspended material in feed water and/or windblown desert dust
[24].
M.A. El Moneam
Fig. 6. Groundwater Level Fluctuations 1996 – 1998.
In 1997, three experiments with long infiltration periods of two
and three months were also conducted, without scraping the basin
bottom. During these three prolonged infiltration periods approxi-
mately 0.8 MCM were infiltrated [24]. In the 1998, infiltration
experiments were conducted with gullies. In the gullies’ experi-
ments, IR increased considerably during the first 15 days, starting
at 0.7 m/day and gradually decreasing to 0.2 m/day. During the
1998 experiments a total of 0.2 MCM were infiltrated [24]. Fluctu-
ation of groundwater levels under the infiltration basin during the
period (1996 – 1998) is portrayed in Fig. 6, expressing the relation-
ship between IR and the height of groundwater mound under the
basin [24].
According to 1996 – 1988 experimental work, controlled artifi-
cial recharge of groundwater using untreated Nile water via basin
infiltration is proved to be technically feasible, total of 1.2 MCM
were infiltrated in El Bustan extension area. Due to the high con-
Fig. 7. Groundwater Levels Fluctuations Under the Basin.
7
Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx
tent of clay and calcrete layers in the Western Delta fringes, only
low to moderate stabilized infiltration rates of about 0.1 m/day
could be realized. However, in the first two weeks of all the exper-
iments higher rates were observed (0.2–0.3 m/day). It is also
proved that relatively higher IR could be achieved by the construc-
tion of gullies in the infiltration basin.
6.3. Controlled artificial recharge 2020–2021
In 2020, RIGW could successfully restore the AR facilities to its
proper functioning conditions at the experimental station in El
Bustan extension area. In 2021, RIGW has resumed AR activities
by conducting three short-term infiltration experiments. Each
experiment lasted for 3 days and consisted of one infiltration cycle
of filling / emptying the experimental basin. During these three
experiments a total of 60,285 m3 were infiltrated in the El Bustan
experimental station. For the first cycle, the groundwater level at
the center of the infiltration basin achieved the highest level of
17.56 m AMSL, where the corresponding groundwater mound
reached a maximum of about 0.9 m. Conversely, during cycles 2
and 3, lower levels have been attained.
Fluctuations of groundwater levels during the three experi-
ments under the basin center and in the observation wells outside
the basin are presented in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, respectively. The
groundwater fluctuations at the basin center compared to selected
observation wells outside the basin are illustrated in Fig. 9. Fluctu-
ations of groundwater levels appearing in the hydrographs in
December 2021 and January 2022 after cessation of the experi-
ments are caused by rainfall events. However, linking rainfall
events so consistently to groundwater level fluctuations is not
always so easy or obvious. Rainfall events contribute to groundwa-
ter recharge in the region, yet the conversion of rainfall into
recharge remains a complex undertaking due to lack of data.
M.A. El Moneam Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 8. Groundwater Levels Fluctuations Outside the Basin.

Fig. 9. Groundwater Levels Fluctuations Under and Outside the Basin.

8
M.A. El Moneam Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 10. Post Experiments Groundwater Level (mid-November 2021).

Fig. 11. Post Experiments Groundwater Level Rise (mid-November 2021).

Contour map of the groundwater levels in El Bustan extension
experimental station after completion of the three experiments
in mid-November 2021 is shown in Fig. 10. Contour map of the
resulting rise of groundwater levels in El Bustan extension experi-
mental station after completion of the three experiments in mid-
November 2021 is displayed in Fig. 11.
For each infiltration experiment (filling/emptying cycle), infil-
tration rates (IR) have been determined and are found to vary from
a maximum of 0.40 m/day for the first experiment, 0.34 for the sec-
ond experiment, and 0.32 m/day for the last experiment. Despite
the fact that scale of the 1996–1997 infiltration experiments is
by far larger than that of the 2020–2021 short-term experiments,

9
M.A. El Moneam
the obtained IR values in 2020–2021 experiments are found to be
comparable to those of the 1996–1997 experiments.
The potential for artificial recharge by infiltration basin is deter-
mined largely by aquifer conditions at or near the recharge site [9].
This study revealed that the major change affecting aquifer condi-
tions in El Bustan study area is the rise of groundwater levels. This
rise is attributed to uncontrolled recharge from seepage from
nearby canals and irrigation return flow in the western Nile Delta
region during the past 25 years. Accordingly, the rise of groundwa-
ter levels resulted in reducing the thickness of the vadose zone
beneath the infiltration basin from about 22 m in 1996 to about
12 m in 2021.
It is noteworthy that the vadose zone plays a significant role
during artificial recharge via infiltration basin. Artificial recharge
by infiltration basin is affected by the thickness, lithology, hetero-
geneity, and antecedent water content of the vadose zone and
evaporation from the vadose zone [22]. However, quantitative
evaluation of artificial recharge is a challenge due to the vadose
zone, and the limitations of detection techniques and evaluation
methods to understand the effects of artificial recharge on the
moisture dynamics of the vadose zone [1]. The thickness of the
vadose zone affects the speed of infiltration directly and larger
thicknesses lead to noticeable lag times. Hence, with an increase
in the thickness, the efficiency of recharge declines [12]. The speed
of infiltration is function of the antecedent water content of the
vadose zone [4]. Meanwhile, the thickness of the vadose zone
should not be too small, because it is related to the storage space,
and artificial recharging on thin vadose zones may aggravate evap-
oration and disturb the earth surface structure [22]. Accordingly,
the present reduction in the thickness of vadose zone in El Bustan
extension area by more than 50% of its original thickness in 1996,
implies shorter lag times, increased infiltration speed, and higher
recharge efficiency. Hence, the vadose zone reduced thickness
explains the reasons behind that the IR values obtained from the
2021 short-term infiltration experiments are comparable to those
obtained from the 1996 full-fledged experiments.
The progressive impacts of uncontrolled recharge on the aquifer
conditions in the study area suggest that future studies should shift
from artificial recharge to managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in
order to achieve sustainable equilibrium of the aquifer hydrologic
conditions. With achieving such equilibrium, uncontrolled
recharge will have no adverse impact on local or regional ground-
water levels. MAR uses aquifers to store water and is defined as the
purposeful recharge of water to aquifers for subsequent recovery
[6]. The application of MAR can facilitate conjunctive use of surface
and groundwater for improved agricultural water management [3].
[8] give overview about the application of MAR in Africa, while [13]
reviewed a survey and an analysis of case studies which apply flow
and transport models to evaluate MAR schemes.
7. Conclusions and recommendations
The 1996–1998 artificial recharge experiments in El Bustan
extension proved that AR using untreated Nile water via basin
infiltration is technically feasible. During the period 2020–2021,
RIGW could successfully restore El Bustan AR facilities to its proper
functioning conditions, and to resume AR activities by conducting
three short-term infiltration experiments. In this work, changes in
hydrological conditions affecting the experimental station since its
inception are reviewed and assessed. The 2020–2021 results are
evaluated and compared to the previous 1996–1998 results.
The study revealed that the thickness of the vadose zone in the
study area is reduced by about 10 m compared to the thickness in
1996. This is attributed to uncontrolled recharge from seepage
from nearby canals and irrigation return flow in the western Nile
10
Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx
Delta region. Taking into consideration the progressive impacts
of uncontrolled recharge on the aquifer conditions in the study
area, it is concluded that future studies should shift from artificial
recharge to managed aquifer recharge (MAR) to store water in the
aquifer for subsequent recovery and to achieve sustainable equilib-
rium of the aquifer hydrologic conditions. The suggested applica-
tion of MAR can also facilitate conjunctive use of surface and
groundwater for improved agricultural water management in the
western Nile Delta region.
It is recommended for future studies to extend the study area to
fully cover the western Nile Delta region. In this respect, long-term
groundwater levels monitoring and quality monitoring to charac-
terize seasonal variations is highly recommended. Evaluation of
the groundwater level response to rainfall events and associated
recharge potential for the aquifer system should be considered. It
is also proposed for further studies to use coupled numerical
groundwater flow and solute transport models for exploring MAR
schemes that can sustain the aquifer hydrologic equilibrium.
MAR schemes to be explored should facilitate conjunctive use of
surface and groundwater for improved water use management in
in the western Nile Delta region.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
References
[1] Allison GB, Gee GW, Tyler SW. Vadose-Zone Techniques for Estimating
Groundwater Recharge in Arid and Semiarid Regions. Soil Sci Soc Am J
1994;58:6–14.
[2] Attia F, Mostafa M, Smidt E. The role of Artificial recharge in integrated water
management in Egypt) the third international symposium on artificial
recharge of groundwater – TISAR 98 Netherland, September 1998; 1998.
[3] Avgeris, Loukas & Karasogiannidis, D. & Gkiougkis, Ioannis & Pliakas, Fotios-
Konstantinos & Tzevelekis, T, Bellos K, Diamantis Ι. Research on conjunctive
use of surface water and groundwater for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) at
the River Nestos Delta, Greece. Eur. Water 2017;60:155–60.
[4] Boughanmi M, Dridi L, Hamdi M, Majdoub R, Schäfer G. Impact of floodwaters
on vertical water fluxes in the deep vadose zone of an alluvial aquifer in a
semi-arid region. Hydro Sci J 2018;2018(63):136–53.
[5] Bouwer H. Artificial recharge of groundwater: hydrogeology and engineering.
Hydrogeol J 2002;10(1):121–42.
[6] Dillon P. Future management of aquifer recharge. Hydrogeol J 2005;13
(1):313–6.
[7] Dillon P, Stuyfzand P, Grischek T. Sixty years of global progress in managed
aquifer recharge. Hydrogeoly J 2019;27:1–30 (2019.
[8] Ebrahim GY, Lautze JF, Villholth KG. Managed Aquifer Recharge in Africa:
Taking Stock and Looking Forward. Water 2020;2020(12):1844.
[9] Hamlin NS. Evaluation of the Potential for Artificial Ground-Water Recharge in
Eastern San Joaquin County. US Geol Surv, Water-Resour Invest Report
1987:87–4164.
[10] Hao Q, Shao J, Cui Y, Xie Z. Applicability of Artificial Recharge of Groundwater
in the Yongding River Alluvial Fan in Beijing through Numerical Simulation. J
Earth Sci 2014;25(3):575–86.
[11] Waqed HH, Nile BK, Mahdi K, Wesseling J, Ritsema C. Feasibility Assessment of
Potential Artificial Recharge for Increasing Agricultural Areas in the Kerbala
Desert in Iraq Using Numerical Groundwater Modeling. Water 2021;2021
(13):3167.
[12] Izbicki JA, Flint AL, Stamos CL. Artificial recharge through a thick,
heterogeneous unsaturated zone. Ground Water 2008;2008(46):475–88.
[13] Jana Ringleb *, Jana Sallwey and Catalin Stefan. Assessment of Managed
Aquifer Recharge through Modeling—A Review. Water 2016;8:579. http://doi.
org/10.3390/w8120579 www.mdpi.com/journal/water.
[14] Jódar-Abellán A, Albaladejo-García JA, Prats-Rico D. Artificial groundwater
recharge. Review of the current knowledge of the technique. Revista de la
Sociedad Geológica de España 2017;30(1):85–96.
[15] Liang X, Zhan H, Zhang Y-K. Aquifer Recharge Using a Vadose Zone Infiltration
Well. Water Resour Res J. 2018. http://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023409.
[16] Louis Boansi Okofo1, Marion Martienssen. A three dimensional numerical
groundwater flow model to assess the feasibility of managed aquifer recharge
in the Tamne River basin of Ghana. Hydrogeol J. 2022;30:1071–90.
[17] Lydia Kwoyiga *, Catalin Stefan. Institutional Feasibility of Managed Aquifer
Recharge in Northeast Ghana. Sustain J 2019;11:379. http://doi.org/
10.3390/su11020379.
M.A. El Moneam
[18] Mostafa M. Artificial recharge experiments in Bustan Extension Area, Egypt‘‘
the third international symposium on artificial recharge of groundwater –
TISAR 98 Netherland, September 1998.
[19] El-Rawy M, Makhloof AA, Hashem MD, Eltarabily MG. Groundwater
management of quaternary aquifer of the Nile Valley under different
recharge and discharge scenarios: A case study Assiut governorate, Egypt.
Ain Shams Eng J 2021;12(2021):2563–74.
[20] Niels Hartog, Pieter J. Stuyfzand. Water Quality Considerations on the Rise as
the Use of Managed Aquifer Recharge Systems Widens. Water J. 2017;9:808.
http://doi.org/10.3390/w9100808.
[21] Salehi Shafa N, Babazadeh H, Aghayari F, Saremi A. Multi-objective planning
for optimal exploitation of surface and groundwater resources through
development of an optimized cropping pattern and artificial recharge
system. Ain Shams Eng J 2022:101847.
[22] Qi T, Shu L, Li Hu, Wang X, Men Y, Opoku P. Water Distribution from Artificial
Recharge via Infiltration Basin under Constant Head Conditions. Water
2021;13:1052. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/w13081052.
[23] RIGW/IWACO (1997). Hydrogeology of El Bustan and Bahig areas. EMGR Project.
[24] RIGW/IWACO (1999). Contributions to environmental management of Egypt’s
groundwater. Final Report, EMGR project.
11
Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (xxxx) xxx
I’m Dr.Manal Abd El Moneam , Ph.D Civil Engineering,
Irrigation and Hydraulic Dept, Ain Shams University
2009. I joined the Research Institute for Groundwater
RIGW, one of the institutes of the National Water
Research Center NWRC (Ministry of Water Resources and
Irrigation) since 1998. Get associate professor degree in
hydrogeology since 2016. From year 2019 till now I was
appointed as the head of Groundwater management and
protection in the Nile Valley & Delta department, RIGW.
Among my responsibilities is supervising and participat-
ing in groundwater projects in Nile delta and valley area
which related to groundwater development, groundwater
management, preparing hydrogeological maps, groundwater modeling, artificial
recharge experiments, and groundwater quality, monitoring and protection. I’m a
Hydro geologist, Specialty in hydrology, water development and management,
groundwater pollution, groundwater quality monitoring, and groundwater flow and
solute transport numerical modeling, in Egypt, applications of GIS and remote sensing
in groundwater fields.