Author(s): Haytham Awad
Linked Author(s): Haytham Awad
Keywords: Coastal lakes, environmental impacts, hydrodynamic models, alternatives analysis, Burulus Lake
Abstract: The North of Egypt contains five coastal lagoons; these lakes represent economically important terms of fish production with more than 11% of Egypt's production. After adding production of farms that are located in these lakes, the total production becomes about 75% of total production in Egypt. The lakes are exposed to various challenges in this area and also to pollution problems. Burulus Lake is one of these Northern lakes and it is the second largest natural lake in Egypt. It has a current production of 60 thousand tons of fish annually, and when adding fish farms inside and along the perimeter, the total production becomes about a third of fish production in Egypt. Burulus wetland is one of the disposal areas for agricultural drainage water. It receives most of the drainage waters of the Nile Delta region through the drainage system. Recently, the marine ecosystem in the lake has deteriorated due to unbalanced water resources. To re-establish the pre-deterioration environmental case, water balance of the lake has to be investigated. Furthermore, all activities in and outside the wetland have been studied and a hydrodynamic model that can simulate Burulus Lake has been developed, including tidal behavior, freshwater inputs, water balance, mixing, exchange with the Mediterranean Sea, density current, geomorphological characteristics and sediment movement. This study aims to find the optimal solution for decreasing the lake pollution by studying four options: (i) Digging group of wells at the Southern part of the Lake, (ii) Dredging the lake Bottom, (iii) Construction of a new strait, and (iv) Change Drains direction to the Mediterranean Sea directly. Iber software has been used for each option to calculate water velocities and water circulation in the lake. Finally, the study has presented a matrix of the four options which could be used as a tool for decision makers
Year: 2017