Water (Sep 2020)

Mitigation Plan and Water Harvesting of Flashflood in Arid Rural Communities Using Modelling Approach: A Case Study in Afouna Village, Egypt

  • Omar M. Abdeldayem,
  • Omar Eldaghar,
  • Mohamed K. Mostafa,
  • Mahmoud M. Habashy,
  • Ahmed A. Hassan,
  • Hossam Mahmoud,
  • Karim M. Morsy,
  • Ahmed Abdelrady,
  • Robert W. Peters

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092565
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 9
p. 2565

Abstract

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This paper aims to propose methods to mitigate the risks of flash flood events in arid rural communities with poor infrastructure. A flash flood management case study was conducted at Afouna Village in Egypt, which is characterized by an arid climate and faced a devasting flash flood in 2015. First, the flash flood was modelled and it was found that it corresponds to a 100 year return period flood that led to an almost 13 million m3 total runoff volume. A structural protection approach, using an artificial infiltration pond, was applied to mitigate the flooding risks through water harvesting and recharging the groundwater of the Moghra aquifer. In this study, a novel approach was proposed, which is substituting the low permeability silty sand (2.0 × 10−4 m/s) in the pond area with a high permeability one (9.6 × 10−3 m/s), which will enhance water harvesting and reduce direct evaporation. Modern techniques of hydrological modelling were utilized in order to achieve the optimal use, and harvesting, of flash flood water.

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