Regional and National efforts

National efforts

Egypt

Recent efforts by Egypt’s government to better understand NSAS resources include the development of methodologies for the desalination of brackish groundwater, artificial recharge and for storing water for drinking, industrial and agricultural uses. Egypt is also installing 15 observation wells in the southern part of the NSAS. Past collaboration with the IAEA included groundwater assessments in the Western Desert to help the government make its population redistribution program there more sustainable.

Libya

A current IAEA project is using isotope hydrology to better understand the impacts of water abstraction from the Kufra and Sarir sub-basin sections of the NSAS for the purpose of piping water to coastal areas. Efforts will address concerns about how abstraction might deteriorate water quality through the mobilisation of saline groundwater. The project is also looking into questions of recharge, connectivity and age determination.

Sudan

A number of IAEA-assisted technical cooperation projects have been executed for many years in Sudan, mainly to investigate the influence of the Nile River system and large seasonal wadis on adjacent parts of the NSAS. Results from IAEA isotope studies contributed to an improved understanding of the sources and origins of water, hydraulic interconnections between aquifer units, groundwater recharge, the sources and processes of water salinization and identification of pollution sources and their transport dynamics.

While information gathered has been useful (e.g. for updating hydro-geological maps), there is still an urgent need for additional isotopic investigations in the NSAS area and other parts of Sudan. A new IAEA project is helping Sudan to assess the origins of pollution, especially from organic fertilizers, pesticides, landfill leakage and human sewage, entering the ‘Khartoum Aquifer’, a reserve in contact with the NSAS.

Chad

Some preliminary research has been carried out on the geology and hydrogeology of Chad. National authorities have adopted a national water resources strategy to investigate the possibility of introducing state-of-the art technology to extract groundwater from aquifers. Initially, this will involve the drilling of boreholes and the setting up of modern pumping systems that will require large financial and human resources. Funds are now being sought. Sites for monitoring wells in the NSAS area have also been identified based on existing springs and wells. Before the Nubian Project began, there were no IAEA activities in Chad.