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Abstract
The gigantic El-Salam Canal project has been established to secure water to
cultivate an acreage of 620.000 acre, among those 220.000 are in the northern Nile Delta
while 400.000 are located in north Sinai. Since the Canal water is the Nile fresh water
mixed with drainage water (in ratio 1:1), the current monitoring of the presence of
chemical and bacteriological agents that might negatively reflects on human health is
compulsory. Forty eight water samples were seasonally taken during a period extended
from 2003 to 2005 along 55 Km of the Canal for quality assessment. Results showed that
25 % of water samples had pH of > 9.0. The EC estimates were falling in the range 0.83 -
8.28 dSm-1 being higher as the distance from Seuz Canal crossing point increased. Low
levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) were scored for waters adjacent to crossing point (1.20 -
7.33 mgl-1). The biological oxygen demand (BOD) of waters significantly increased up to
33 Km from crossing point then decreased. The BOD/COD ratios ranged between 0.12
and 0.45 for 2003 – 2004 water samples, 0.29 and 0.59 for those of 2004 - 2005. Up to 6
mgl-1 of NO3
--N were estimated being > 4 and 6 fold higher than NH4
+-N and NO2
-–N
contents respectively. Summer and winter 2004 - 2005 samples contained 0.48 and 0.21
mgl-1 orthophosphates against 0.16 and 0.11 mgl-1 for those of spring and autumn. The
calculated sodium absorption ratio of water samples hardly exceeded 15 meql-1. The
heavy metals Cd, Cu, Fe and Zn existed in low quantities, the respective average levels of
0.091, 0.087, 0.165 and 6.203 mgl-1 were obtained. Bacteriological analyses indicated the
presence of 22 ºC and 37 ºC- growing bacteria in dense populations of 1.24 × 104 and 7.1
× 103 cfu ml-1 respectively. Sporeformers a well as diazotrophs were encountered as 0.8 ×
102 and 1.2 × 104 cfu ml-1. High numbers (up to 550 MPN/100 ml-1) of total coliforms
were present in water samples collected from the Seuz Canal crossing point. While faecal
coliforms were very rare, as high as 1600 MPN/100 ml-1 of faecal streptococci were
present. The situation of El–Salam Canal water, as a whole, on the map of water quality
standards was discussed.
Keywords: El-Salam canal, North Sinai, drainage water, reuse of water, microbial
load, Nile Delta.