title: A simulation-based suitability index of the quality and quantity of agricultural drainage water for reuse in irrigation.
abstract: The suitability of agricultural drainage water (ADW) for reuse in irrigation was indexed based on a simulation of quality and quantity. The ADW reuse index (DWRI) has two components; the first one indicates the suitability of water quality (QLT) for reuse in irrigation based on the mixing ratio of ADW to canal irrigation water without violating the standards of using mixed water in irrigation, while the second indicates the available water quantity (QNT) based on the ratio of the available ADW to the required reuse discharge to meet the irrigation requirements alongside the drain. The QLT and QNT values ranged from 0 to ≥3 and from 0 to ≥0.40, respectively. Correspondingly, five classes from excellent to poor and from high scarcity to no scarcity were proposed to classify the QLT and QNT values, respectively. This approach was then applied to the Gharbia drain in the Nile Delta, Egypt, combined with QUAL2Kw simulations in the summer and winter of 2012. The QLT values along the drain ranged from 1.11 to 2.91 and 0.68 to 1.73 for summer and winter, respectively. Correspondingly, the QLT classes ranged from good to very good and from fair to good, respectively. In regard to QNT, values ranged from 0.10 to 0.62 and from 0.10 to 0.88 for summer and winter, respectively. Correspondingly, the QNT classes ranged from medium scarcity to no scarcity for both seasons. The demonstration of DWRI in the Gharbia drain suggests that the proposed index presents a simple tool for spatially evaluating the suitability of ADW for reuse in irrigation.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, (E-JUST), P.O. Box 179, New Borg Al-Arab City, 21934 Alexandria, Egypt. Electronic address: ayman.elkhelaly@ejust.edu.eg.
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allam
authors.affiliation: Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulics Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University 21544, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Amr
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fleifle
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, (E-JUST), P.O. Box 179, New Borg Al-Arab City, 21934 Alexandria, Egypt. Electronic address: ahmed.tawfik@ejust.edu.eg.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tawfik
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.
authors.forename: Chihiro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.affiliation: Drainage Research Institute, National Water Research Center (NWRC), El-Qanater El-Khairya, P.O. Box 13621, Cario, Egypt.
authors.forename: Aiman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Saadi
keywords: Agricultural drainage water; Nile delta; QUAL2Kw; Reuse; Suitability index