Gated Pipes Adoptation as a Hybrid Modernized Irrigation System for the Old Lands of Egypt
The Egyptian water sector faces several challenges, including limited water resources, population growth, poor per-capita water share, climate changes, and water quality and pollution issues. The applied conventional farming, irrigation, and fertilization techniques are inefficient and result in large water losses. Improving irrigation efficiency is crucial for sustainability, as irrigation consumes 84% of available freshwater. Even doubling non-conventional water resources will not be enough to compensate for Nile water losses alone. To achieve food security and economic development, Egypt should focus on efficient irrigation practices, ensuring higher water productivity, preserving land fertility, and controlling salinization's harmful impacts. Applying gated pipes as a hybrid-controlled surface irrigation system could help to achieve these goals. Applying modernized Irrigation Systems (MIS) requires consideration of broad dominant conditions comprising soil, cropping pattern, topography, climate, and socioeconomic conditions, in addition to recognizing a wide range of socioeconomic and environmental impacts. For selecting MIS, the Egyptian old clay lands may require special care due to their sensitivity to salinity buildup. Other considerations should include high efficiency, land productivity, water savings, low costs, and system simplicity. The gated pipe (GP) irrigation system is a modernization of the flood irrigation systems that are suitable for application in the old clay lands. This study provides a comparative assessment of the impacts of the transformation to modernized irrigation in the Egyptian clay lands, considering the efficiency, productivity, and environmental impacts of different types of modern irrigation. Based on the advantages and disadvantages of modernized irrigation systems, the study highlights GP and assesses the performance of different modernization techniques.
