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Agricultural Drainage: Toward an Interdisciplinary and Integrated Approach

Balancing Productivity and Environmental Pressure in Egypt

Description

This country study: “Balancing Productivity and Environmental Pressure in Egypt. Toward an Interdisciplinary and Integrated Approach to Agricultural Drainage” was prepared as a contribution to the project “Agricultural Drainage: Toward an Interdisciplinary and Integrated Approach”, sponsored by the World Bank–Netherlands Partnership Program (BNPP)—Environmental Window for Water Resources Management and the Agricultural and Rural Development Department (ARD) of the World Bank. This country study is one of six parallel studies. The other studies are on Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Pakistan. Together they will provide the basis for formulating the proposed approach.

For this study of the Rural Development Department of the World Bank consisting of a comparative investigation into the above countries that represent different drainage situation, NSCE has been subcontracted for the study and analysis of Egypt’s drainage situation by ARCADIS EUROCONSULT. The study aim is to contribute to improving design and implementation of interventions in the drainage sector, which meet users, and donors’ objectives to produce integrated and sustainable drainage development. This was achieved through the definition of a typology of drainage situations based on technical-physical, social-managerial and environmental criteria, and by pointing at different objectives of drainage when addressing local diversity.

The study identified different institutional models for drainage management, analyzed best practices for different drainage situations, and developed a framework to better understand and recognize drainage interaction between different elements of the hydrologic cycle and different water using sectors as part of integrated water resource management.

Resource: Report Balancing Productivity and Environmental Pressure in Egypt: Toward an Interdisciplinary and Integrated Approach to Agricultural Drainage

Executive summary of the study:

The development of agricultural drainage in Egypt and the institutions that have developed around it is the subject of this study. It focuses on the current challenges and issues in drainage in Egypt, which lead to the conclusion that drainage must be viewed as a cornerstone of integrated water resources management.

The challenge in agricultural drainage in Egypt over the years has been to find ways of maintaining the productivity of the water resource system in a situation of increased demand and environmental pressure on the resource. The recent history of drainage begins with the failure of the cotton crop in the early twentieth century and the government’s strong response to overcome waterlogging and salinity. In the late 1960s, Egypt embarked on the “national subsurface drainage project,” covering almost all of the “old land” (the Valley, Delta, and Fayoum) with surface drains and horizontal pipe drains. This program has turned Egypt into the country with the most extensive drainage coverage. In 2012, the horizontal drainage plan in the old land is expected to come to an end.

Drainage development in Egypt has become a public responsibility. The Egyptian Public Authority for Drainage Projects (EPADP) was established in 1973 within the Ministry for Irrigation (now the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, MWRI). EPADP was given full autonomy to develop the drainage system in the old lands. A centralized “blanket” approach was chosen—full coverage and standardized designs and procedures. Internal knowledge was considerably developed. Procedures for land acquisition, crop compensation, and capital cost recovery supported the implementation of the program. Design, construction, supervision, and maintenance (of horizontal pipe drains) were done in-house. This allowed EPAPD to develop into an effective deliverer. The reverse side is that outside EPAPD little capacity developed—which is felt as a constraint in the current drive toward user management of drainage systems in the old lands and private investment on new lands. In the new lands, EPADP never had a strong role, and a substantial backlog of drainage improvements awaits action. Particularly now that the drainage construction program in the old land is ending, the role and function of EPADP will have to be redefined.

The impact in terms of agricultural production has been significant. Monitoring, as part of the National Drainage Program, established that annual net farm income increased by US$375/ha in nonsaline areas and US$200/ha in saline areas. In addition, drainage reduced the incidence of vector-borne disease and reduced damage to built-up property. The extensive drainage network also facilitated drainage water reuse—both formal and informal. With this development, water quality in the drains has become a critical concern. The major issue is the pollution of drainage water with toxic substances, particularly bacteria, heavy metals (cadmium, lead), ammonia, and pesticide residues. Most of these originate in industrial and urban areas, through which the drains pass. Particularly where irrigation canals also serve as the source of domestic water, the discharge of contaminated drainage water from the irrigation system has been problematic. The development of the drainage network has also meant that the outflow is changing, particularly to the northern lakes, with dwindling volumes of water containing increasingly concentrated contaminants. These lakes sustain a large fishing population and serve a substantial part of the domestic market for fish, but the sustainability and safety of this activity is under threat.

The increasing complexity and interlinkages in Egypt’s water system have put drainage in the context of integrated water resources management rather than in one focused only on sustaining agricultural productivity. As Egypt’s policy is to meet water scarcity by doubling official reuse and as there is already substantial “unofficial” private reuse at the tail-ends of canals, drainage water quality management will only gain in importance in the near future.

A number of suggestions have been put forward to remedy the situation: continuing substantial investment in water treatment but following better location-specific priorities; reducing the use of agrochemicals by cutting subsidies and increasing awareness of their undesirable side effects; and tightening enforcement of water quality legislation with the help of public disclosure. Other solutions are in the realm of water resources management—designating special drains as sewers and moving from a centralized drainage water reuse system to an intermediate reuse system.

What appears important in this constellation is to also reinforce local water resources management— looking at the local water supply and sector-specific demand and preparing local strategies to make the most of the management of water volume and quality. Integrating irrigation and drainage services more closely at district and governorate level is already being discussed—for combined operation and maintenance (O&M) activities. This may have to go a step farther toward improved water management at this level.

The question of institutional arrangements thus arises. The blanket approach to drainage development and the technology chosen in Egypt allowed steady progress of activities but left relatively little space for user involvement in drainage or decentralized management. At the lowest level of the drainage system, collector-user associations (CUAs) were tried out, but they did not take off, as they had too little to do and were not given legal recognition.

In light of a move toward participatory water management in Egypt, water boards are being piloted in 50 secondary canal commands, their area of operations typically ranging around 750 ha. A legal amendment has been introduced in the Parliament to enable the transfer of what are now public functions to water boards, at either secondary canal or district level. The amendments would also empower water boards to collect the necessary charges and implement effective sanctions. The opening for district-level water boards is particularly important, as this may be the most viable level for user management and decentralized integrated water resources management. However, discussion is still at a very early stage— there are no integrated water resources management districts in place or water boards operating at this level. Important questions remain about the role of MWRI, the regulation of water functions, financing mechanisms. Other questions have not yet been asked.

Egypt’s main challenges with respect to drainage seem to be:

  • Development of drainage services in the new lands
  • Implementation of a range of measures to improve drainage water quality
  • Development of viable models of decentralized integrated water resources management
  • Redefinition of the role of EPADP and the private sector in providing drainage services, particularly as emphasis shifts from construction to maintenance and management.