Egypt’s Irrigation Ministry strives to collect the maximum amount of groundwater by installing “auto-control” devices in more than 15 underground wells.

Egyptian Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty said that the ministry developed and increased the efficiency of its machinery and cranes in the New Valley governorate to ensure an immediate response to emergencies and periodic maintenance of the groundwater wells in the New Valley, so as to ensure their sustainability.

He said that for the first time 15 auto-control devices were recently installed in the groundwater wells in New Valley, and another four devices are being installed in four other wells. He noted that a joint cooperation protocol was signed between the Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry and the New Valley governorate for the installation of monitoring and control devices in 19 wells, so as to monitor and operate them automatically and remotely from a central operating room. The goal is to monitor safe withdrawals from wells, calculate consumption rates from each and avoid excessive withdrawal of water, in a bid to ensure a quick and accurate collection of data and to make them available to decision-makers so as to preserve and rationalize utilization of water resources.

Abdel Aty stressed the need to fully adhere to all regulations and requirements for the use of groundwater that would allow an optimal management and rational use of water resources, particularly since the deep groundwater in Egypt is nonrenewable.