El-Salam canal is a potential project reusing the Nile Delta drainage water for Sinai desert agriculture: Microbial and chemical water quality

More than 12 × 109 m3/year of Nile Delta drainage water is annually discharged into the Mediterranean Sea. El-Salam (peace) canal, having a mixture of such drainage water and the Nile water (1:1 ratio), crosses the Suez canal eastward to the deserts of north Sinai. The suitability of the canal water for agriculture is reported here. Representative samples were obtained during two successive years to follow effects of seasonal and spatial distribution, along the first 55 km course in north Sinai, on the water load of total bacteria, bacterial indicators of pollution, and chemical and heavy metals contents. In general, the canal water is acceptable for irrigation, with much concern directed towards the chemical contents of total salts (EC), Na and K, as well as the trace elements Cd and Fe. Extending the canal course further than 30 km significantly lowered the fecal pollution rate to the permissible levels of drinking water. Results strongly emphasize the need for effective pre-treatment of the used drainage water resources prior mixing with the Nile water.