Egypt’s agricultural heartland is facing a quiet crisis—one that threatens food security and forces farmers to make do with water that may do more harm than good. A new study by Eman Ashour, a researcher at Tanta University’s Department of Irrigation and Hydraulics Engineering, reveals that drainage water being reused for irrigation in El-Behira Governorate is often of poor quality, with salinity and contaminants exceeding safe limits. The findings, published in *Water Science* (formerly *Misr Journal of Agricultural Engineering*), raise urgent questions about the long-term sustainability of Egypt’s water reuse strategies.
Ashour and her team collected 36 water samples over four seasons in 2017 from three drainage reuse projects. The results were sobering: most parameters—including salinity, heavy metals, and microbial content—far exceeded both Egyptian and international (FAO) irrigation standards. Using two widely recognized water quality indices—CCME-WQI and NSF-WQI—the researchers classified the drainage water as “Poor” or “Marginal,” while the blended water (a mix of drainage and freshwater) was labeled “Bad.”
“Current practices show that untreated drainage water should not be used for irrigation,” Ashour warns. “Continuing to do so risks damaging soil health, reducing crop yields, and even threatening public health.”
The implications are significant for Egypt’s energy and agricultural sectors. As freshwater supplies dwindle, the country has increasingly turned to drainage water reuse to sustain irrigation. But this stopgap solution may come at a cost: degraded soils, lower productivity, and higher treatment costs down the line. The study suggests that low-cost treatment technologies could help, but only if implemented alongside stricter monitoring.
For energy planners, the takeaway is clear: investing in water treatment infrastructure isn’t just an environmental necessity—it’s an economic one. Without it, Egypt’s push for food security could face a costly backslide. The research by Ashour and her team isn’t just an academic exercise; it’s a call to action for policymakers, engineers, and investors to rethink how water is managed in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions.