Egyptian policymakers and researchers have been working to address the challenge of bridging the gap between limited water resources and the growing population’s needs for agricultural and food production. The National Great Project for Lining and Rehabilitation of All Open Canals of the Irrigation Network aims to reduce irrigation water losses through seepage, evaporation, and evapotranspiration. This study evaluated water losses from the Al Maanna canal network in the Assiut governorate, Middle Egypt, using empirical formulas and field ponding methods. The results show the Moleth–Worth formula was more compatible with field measurements, with estimated seepage losses of 2.07 and 2.20 million m³/month, respectively. Moreover, maximum evaporation and evapotranspiration losses were 0.086 and 1.133 million m³/month, respectively. Consequently, total water losses from the Al Maanna canal are estimated to be 3.42 million m³/month, accounting for 13.63% of the total discharge. After canal rehabilitation, evaporation and evapotranspiration losses significantly decreased, while seepage losses were lowered to 0.472 million m³/month, as estimated using the field ponding method. Hence, lining the Al Maanna canal network could reduce water losses by 84%, promoting lining processes that yield significant benefits such as moral, cultural, and environmental benefits. This approach outweighs implementation expenses and ensures a sustainable water supply.

Water diversion to bifurcating canals has been attracting interest from water engineering researchers for decades. It can be described by the size of the separation zone in the intake channel and the quantity of flow rate into the bifurcating channel based on the diversion angle. The present study is an attempt to determine the optimum diversion angle of bifurcating channels that can achieve the minimum separation zone size in the intake channel and maximum discharge in the bifurcating channel. The study’s objectives were achieved by using the theoretical three-dimensional (3D) ANSYS 16 software to investigate the diverted flow into bifurcating channels with different diversion angles (90, 75, 60, 45, 30, and 15-degrees). Theoretical expected flow characteristics have been validated by experimental work. According to the findings, the ANSYS 16 software is a good tool for calculating bifurcating channel flow patterns. The final results proved that the 15-degree diversion angle has the optimum impact on the diverted flow. In addition, it achieves a maximum flow rate in the bifurcating channel (about 8.1 L/s), which represents nearly 49.4% of the main channel flow. It also provides a negligible separation zone with respect to the other diversion angles of the bifurcating channel. As a result, the efficiency of distributing, transporting, and controlling the limited amount of water available will improve.

Integrating with the national project of irrigation canal lining in the Egyptian countryside, the present study is introduced. The study presents a technical comparison of differential equations that are usually used for estimating the seeped water from the earthen irrigation canals. The quantities of irrigation water that are lost due to seepage are great enough to decrease the wide gap between the needed and available water quantities that Egypt seriously suffers from. So, the accurate estimation of the seeped water quantities is very important. The study aims to select the suitable seepage equations for the Egyptian soil, climate, and the currently used distributed irrigation system. It is also to assess the understudy network by estimating the lost water quantities due to seepage by using the designed water sections’ dimensions and comparing the results with those obtained using the existing field dimensions. In addition, to determining the agricultural area that can be added to the current served area after preserving such great quantities. From the Assiut countryside, the El-Sont canal and its network were chosen to be a case study. After a careful technical reading of the seepage equations that researchers introduced previously, the closest relationships to the case study were used. Results indicated that using the suggested relationship by Nazir Ahmed and the Indian equation gave the maximum seepage quantities for the entire El-Sont canal network with about 21.5% of the total canal head discharge. Most of this lost water can be saved due to the implementation of the national project for irrigation canal lining. This large amount of preserved water can be used to irrigate 15% of the currently served area.

In such circumstances, sharp climatic changes are accelerating, leaving negative effects on all human capabilities, especially water resources, which face unprecedented scarcity, fulfilling the basic requirements to preserve life, and confronting the rapid population increase in food, clothing, and development, all of which mainly depend on water. Since the fresh water available on the globe does not exceed 2.7% of the total surface water on the globe, which amounts to 97% of its gigantic surface area, to this extent, the availability of freshwater appears to be scarce, which gives it an importance that nothing else can reach. Another component of human life, and on this basis, preserving it becomes preserving life itself. Here appears the biggest challenge facing humanity, as the risks of scarcity and diminishing the small amount available from it increase, either through pollution or irrational use, in addition to what is currently expected from the effects of climate change, which will definitely negatively affect that precious and pure wealth in quantity and quality.

Upper Egypt, the most arid and hottest region in the country, takes its needed quantity of water only from the river Nile as a unique source, unlike the northern region of the country overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The northern region may receive some small quantities of rainwater or water from the aquifers in the north and central Nile Delta.

In this study, we try to present an attempt to anticipate the expected negative effects of climate change on the Upper Egypt region and to develop the necessary scenarios to deal with the challenges that are expected to be faced

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.