Abstract
The reduction of the Nile River Nile flow to Egypt is expected due to the construction and potential improper filling of various projects in the Nile River basin such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Therefore, this research investigates the potential impacts of the GERD on the groundwater level in the Nile Valley aquifer in El-Minia Governorate. Three filling scenarios of 2, 3 and 6 years for the GERD reservoir were simulated under three different flow conditions from the Blue Nile including normal flow (NF), minimum of average flow (MAF) and minimum flow (MF) that arriving Nasser Lake. The results indicated that GWLs decreased by 1.41, 1.76, and 2.21 m for NF, MAF, and MF compared to the base case (BC) for first scenario of two years filling of GERD reservoir, respectively, while for the other two scenarios, the reductions in GWLs were lesser. The tested several management scenarios to satisfy the irrigation demand of the study area revealed that all the simulated scenarios showed an adverse impact of GERD on the deterioration of the Nile Valley aquifer, El-Minia, Egypt. We highlighted the importance of adopting a win–win situation between Eastern Nile Countries and Egypt to minimize the severe adverse GERD's filling impact on groundwater in the Nile Valley aquifer.