Environmental assessment of surface water quality of the river Nile surrounding the project of the new Assuit barrage and its hydropower plant, Egypt

الملخص EN

Owing to the great pressure experienced on the developing countries due to increasing of population and widens industrialization ; developing countries have to diverse sources of energy to produce electricity, control irrigation systems and transportation means.

At the beginning of 2012, the new Assiut barrage and its hydropower plant was initiated in the River Nile at Assiut city in Egypt.

The chemistry of physico-chemical parameters and biological characteristics play a discriminative role for assessment of water quality in the vicinity of the hydropower plant area.

About 190 water samples were collected around the project in the period of 2012- 2014, for the analysis of physicochemical properties such as pH , TDS, DO, COD, BOD, NO3 in mg / l and temperature in OCand Turbidity(NTU).

Their mean values are 8.09, 206.25, 7.15, 9.80, 5.11, 0.55 mg/l and 23.20 OC and 5.95 NTU respectively.

The obtained values were compared with allowable levels stated by WHO and Egyptian laws 48/1982 for the River Nile protection from pollution.

The overall water quality index is 75.50 falls in the second class (70- 90) of water quality categorization of good water quality.

Biological species of water environment such as zooplankton, benthos and concentration of the heavy metals in fish were assessed in water samples and sediment around the industrial area.

The study showed that surface water quality is suitable for industrial projects, but needs some purification for drinking water.

Recommendation to protect surface water quality from environmental pollution was suggested.

-