WSP00762 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

s. COLORAl)O STATI UNIVlRSITY CII0S1J1 '1'0 HIILP DIVlLOP BGYPT'S WATIR RBSIARCH ~GNTGAS o ,:':) ~ o --.! (,Q A $25 million grant awarded to Colorado State University in December, 1988 will provide funds to help Egypt increase agricultural production, reduce its food production gap, and improve the social and economic welfare of its people. Egypt's Ministry of Public Works and water Resources established a Water Research Center (WRC) Project in 1975 to centralize its water research efforts and provide recommendations to control, use and develop its water resources. under wac adm1~1strat1on are eleven water research institutes that will focus on special- ized aspects of water resources resea~ch. Colorado State university will assist in developing the capabilities of the eleven institutes by he19ing to define research needs, providing technical assistance, and developinq a water management policy. Dr. Everett V. Richard- son, the project technical advisor and Civil Enqineerinq Professor at Colorado State Univer- sity, has devoted the past eleven years to improving irrigated agriculture in Egypt. He will be assisted bY Dr. Daniel K. Sunada, campus coordinator and tra1n1nq specialist, who has been an engineerinq consultant to Egypt durinq the last eleven years. The program will focus on traininq Egyptian personnel, providing technical assistance and procuring research equipment. U.S, speCialists will work with staff from Egyptian universities and other institutions to prOVide a variety of in-country training. The proqram will include short courses, sea1nars, workshops, and on-ehe- job daily interaction with technical assistance staff at the eleven research institutes located throuqhout Egypt, Without the Hile River, much of eastern Egypt would be unclaimed desert. The river rises in Lake Victoria and, swollen by summer rains, flows north through Sudan and Eqypt emptyinq into the Mediterranean ssa at Alexandria, Overflowinq eight to twelve miles on either side in its downward. course,. fot centuries it has enriched _Itt---- sa Egypt's delta area near Cairo with thick, alluvial deposits. With dams built since the beginning of the 20th century Egypt has- reclaimed more than B-even million acres of land from the desert. The delta has three major crop-producing areaS: a vegetable-producing area serving the Cairo market; a major cotton and rice producing region; and an upstream area producing beans, cotton, sugarcane. and other crops. In western Egypt's desert are five larqe oases that receive water from porous sandstone beds where water rises through natural fissures. Here olive trees, date palms, and coffee treeS grow together with ~otton and an assortment of other crops: wheat; corn; barley; millet; lentils; beans; rice; sugarcane and fruits. About 60 percent of the farms are one acre or less and the remainder one to five acres, but the rich soil makes the small holdings highlY productive. To increase the efficiency and effective- ness of water use in Eqypt, each of the follow- ing research. institutes will be prOVided technical assistance in its specialized aspect of water research. Water Distribution and Irrigation Systems R...arch Inat1tute--design, analyze and evaluate irrigation systems; enhance farmer acceptance of improved irrigation systems; evaluate benefit~ cost of different irriqation technologies; and assist with crop water use to determine optima! irrigation practices. A atic Weed Control and Channel Maintenanc Re.earch In.t tut.~-improve maintenance an monitoring techniques; advise on physioloqical response of fiah to water pollution. salinity and hectoparasites; ~dvise on lining materials and installation techniques; and advise on herbicide use for minimal costs and environmen~ tal effects. DrainaGe Research Institute--evaluate crop yields and drainaqe prOblems, installation and maintenance procedures; develop simulation models for irriqat10rt and drainaqe; evaluate water and water-balance bUdgets for different areas of the Nile Valley; establish a monitorinq program to evaluate crop-productivity chanqes that result from improved drainage practices and evaluate interrelationships of irrigation. water use, salinity, fertilizers and pesticides. Groundwater Research Institute--analyze water quality and identifY sources of groundwater pollution; assess the environmental impact of groundwater development in the delta and desert areas; develop cost-benefit analyses of qround- wate~ in desert areas; and evaluate management techniques. Water Resource Development Research Institute-- provide help in data collect1on and analyses in arid lands including rainfall and runoff and amount of water available; and develop and use computer models to evaluate groundwater flow. High Aswan Dam Side Effects Research Institute-- analyze and forecast sediment transport and evaluate sediment removal or deposition in Lake Nasser and the Nile River.