The economic development in Egypt and the rapid growth rate in various development sectors are dependent on the availability of water resources in the vast desert lands. Egypt has aquifer systems in desert lands that are exploited to reclaim these arid regions, three of the most important aquifers are the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS), Carbonate Aquifer System (CAS), and the Nile Bain Aquifer System (NBAS).
The interconnection between the mentioned aquifers has neither been broadly studied despite the extensive works that managed the study of these aquifers hydrogeologically nor mentioned obviously with evidence in the previous geologic works and kinds of literature. Hence This study attempts to find the interconnection among these aquifers which in turn will maintain more awareness and opens a new scope of understanding of charge, discharge, feeding and the interconnection process among them.
The study area is located in southern Egypt, extending from southern Egypt at latitude 24°15՛ to middle Egypt at latitude 26°30՛ N, and from the western borders of Kharga oasis at longitude 30° W to the eastern boarder of the Nile Valley at longitude 33° E.
The main methodological aspects here are Using of various geophysical methods consisting of the aero-gravitational and aeromagnetic data of the years 1984 and 1989 respectively owned by the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) with the possible hydrogeologic and hydrochemical data in addition to acquiring some analyses during the study to maintain the geophysical data. The overall integrated output data are modelled to imagine the subsurface situation of the three groundwater aquifers to deduce to what extent the groundwater systems in the study area are connected.
The preliminary data interpretation shows that the main major subsurface structure zones are extending in NW-SE, N-S and W-E directions. The NW-SE structure zones are constituting the main pathways along which the groundwater flows in the NSAS, The N-S structural zones are the main pathways along which groundwater in both the CAS and NBAS flows from south to north. However, the W-E structure zones are the main pathways along which the groundwater flows between the three aquifer systems based on the groundwater levels and the hydrostatic pressures in the three aquifers. The isotope analysis of representative groundwater samples from the three aquifer systems will show the oldest aquifer and which is the main recharge for the others.