NEW MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS FORSUBSURFACE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IN EGYPT

Egypt is faced with a water scarcity situation due to increasing demands on a fixed resource which could limit the country’s ability to further its overall economic development. There is a danger that farmers in the Nile Valley and Delta may receive less irrigation water and of lower average quality in the future if no actions are taken towards irrigation water saving. In Egypt more than 2 million ha have a subsurface drainage system. These systems have been designed with fixed drain depths and spacings to meet certain strict drainage criteria based on conservative design assumptions regarding crop type and rooting depth. However, over the life of a drainage system different condition of crop type, crop growth stages and water availability occur. The original design assumptions only occur for short periods and so for most of the time excessive drainage occurs. Approximately 7.2 BCM of water is drained from areas with subsurface drainage systems in Egypt. A new perspective for managing these systems as a key part of integrated wate