The Nile is the longest river on the planet and its delta is amazing from outer space. Credit: NASA
According to new research study from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the Nile River Delta, which is important for the survival of 60 million Egyptians who depend on it for all aspects of life, is dealing with an existential hazard from extensive heavy metal contamination, seaside erosion, and seawater invasion. Additionally, the delta functions as a vital pitstop for migratory birds along the East African flyway.
The research, headed by Essam Heggy of the USC Viterbi Innovation Fund Arid Climates and Water Research Center, was in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) journal Earths Future.
The impact of the contamination is specifically pronounced in Egypt, the most arid and populous nation downstream of the Nile, which depends totally on the river as its only source of water for drinking and crop watering. The nation presently faces one of the highest water deficit spending in Africa after decades of making up for dwindling water materials with intensive, large-scale wastewater reuse, the effects of which have actually been understudied until now.
” You have approximately the combined populations of California and Florida living in a space the size of the state of New Jersey that is progressively polluted by hazardous heavy metals,” stated Heggy. “Today, the civilization that grew in a beautiful waterscape for over 7,000 years should deal with the truth of this irreversible large-scale ecological destruction.”
For the research study, scientists from the U.S. and Egypt evaluated grain size and contamination levels of eight heavy metals in samples of bottom sediment collected from two branches of the Nile River Delta. Secret findings consisted of:
Much of the heavy metal contamination is permanent, the scientists said, but science-based preservation steps recommended by the study can slow ecological degradation and hopefully recuperate the Nile River Delta environment.
” The annoying water stress and the rapid population development in Egypt, reaching above 100 million, have put regional authorities in a dilemma whether to provide adequate fresh water for the thirsty agricultural sector to protect the food supply through recycling unattended agricultural drainage water or to protect the health of the Nile River,” stated Abotalib Z. Abotalib, a postdoctoral scientist at USC Viterbi and co-author of the research study. “The balance is difficult, and the repercussions of both choices are measurable.”
” Our research study underscores the need for more research study on the ecological effects of untreated water recycling and the modification in river turbidity under increased upstream damming of the Nile,” Heggy stated.
” Continued research with more sampling campaigns in this area might notify future conversations and partnerships amongst countries of the Nile River Basin, who have a shared interest towards preserving a healthy Nile River system.”
Referral: “Irreversible and Large-Scale Heavy Metal Pollution Arising From Increased Damming and Untreated Water Reuse in the Nile Delta” by Abotalib Z. Abotalib, Ahmed A. Abdelhady, Essam Heggy, Salem G. Salem, Esam Ismail, Ahmed Ali and Mahmoud M. Khalil, 7 March 2023, Earths Future.DOI: 10.1029/ 2022EF002987.
The research study was funded by the Zumberge Research and Innovation Fund of the University of Southern California and NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Sediment at the bottom of the Nile River is extremely polluted by heavy metals like cadmium, nickel, chromium, zinc, lead and copper.
Contaminants mainly come from without treatment farming drainage and commercial and municipal wastewater. Without correct treatment of recycled water, concentrations of heavy metals increase and are completely embedded in the riverbed unlike natural pollutants which naturally break down over time.
Heavy metal concentrations might be intensified by increased damming of the Nile. Mega-dams constructed upstream disrupt the rivers natural circulation and sediment flux and thus adversely affect its capability to flush contaminants out into the Mediterranean Sea, leaving toxins to develop in bottom sediment with time.
