Author(s)

Majed Ibrahim¹, Sana Al-Zyoud², Engy Elhaddad³

¹Department of Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing, Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Al al-Bayt University, Mafraq, Jordan.
²Applied of Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Al al-Bayt University, Mafraq, Jordan.
³National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt.

Egypt faces a severe water scarcity in the last years. Increasing population cause rising in water demands and fast economic growth leads to ecosystem degradation. In addition, ineffective irrigation methods with water misuse result in water quality degradation. River Nile is the main fresh water source in Egypt. This study evaluates, one of River Nile branches; Rosetta water quality through Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques. Fifteen water samples were analyzed for their chemical and biological properties. A mathematical model of Water Quality Index (WQI) has been built to integrate biochemical data as input parameters. This model describes the spatial distribution. On the other hand, the temporal of water quality status has been defined. A spatial variation of water quality index was generalized for the study area. The average water quality index values range between 58.8 and 67.2. Generally, the water quality index values within the study area were about the critical pollution level. The concentrations of most elements in the studied water samples were above the permissible levels for drinking water standards. This study concludes that Rosetta water is not suitable for drinking. Furthermore, it can be used for irrigation and domestic uses with specified treatments.

Water Index, Biochemical Parameters, River Nile, GIS, Spatial Analysis

Ibrahim, M. , Al-Zyoud, S. and Elhaddad, E. (2018) Surface Water Quality Monitoring for River Nile, Egypt Using GIS-Techniques. Open Journal of Geology, 8, 161-173. doi: 10.4236/ojg.2018.82010.