The Wadi El-Rayan depression, a protected area in Egypt's Western Desert southwest of Cairo, contains two man-made lakes that serve as reservoirs for agricultural wastewater while supporting fisheries and irrigation. This study assessed their water quality, including heavy metals and microbiological parameters, using the Water quality index (WQI) and heavy metal pollution indices to evaluate suitability for aquatic life. Microbiological analysis found that total coliform, fecal coliform, and fecal streptococci levels at most sites were within acceptable limits for aquatic organisms. The Upper Lake demonstrated fair water quality (WQI = 52-78), while the Lower Lake was of medium quality (WQI = 50-66) and exhibited higher total dissolved solids. Heavy metal pollution was also more pronounced in the Lower Lake. The primary threat to the Upper Lake is effluent from the El-Wadi Drain, which degrades water quality through intensive agricultural discharge. The Lower Lake faces additional ecological stress from a shrinking surface area due to agricultural encroachment and sand dunes. To prevent further degradation, immediate actions, such as optimizing water allocation and establishing a robust water quality monitoring program for the lakes and the drain, are critical. This study underscores the potential for effective water resource conservation and calls for an integrated effort among policymakers, industries, and communities to ensure a sustainable water future.

The present study is the first pioneer study on the ecological status of the Wadi Mariout ponds in the southern part of the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt. The physicochemical variables referred to brackish water (salinity: 12.28–16‰). The WQI indicated a lower water quality status in the western basin than the eastern one. The average TSI values (64.61 and 63.52) refer to high ecological productivity and poor water quality. However, the Arithmetic Water Quality Index (Ar-WQI) indicates the excellent water quality of the eastern pond for aquatic life, while the water quality of the western pond varies from good to very poor. The predominant groups’ species and low biodiversity indices of phytoplankton (1.29–2.2), zooplankton (1.23–1.93), and macroinvertebrates (0.45–1.85), as well as the biochemical composition of phytoplankton, reveal a high protein-carbohydrate ratio (> 11), indicating eutrophication conditions. Also, the biotic measurements show that the phytoplankton (70.7 × 106 Ind.l−1) and zooplankton (23.23 × 105 Ind.m−3) communities were more diverse and flourished in the western basin. Nevertheless, the macrobenthic invertebrates varied more in the eastern basin, 31,284 org.m−2, in compared to 5750 org.m−2 in the western one. The phytoplankton community was dominated by Chlorophyta and Cyanobacteria (79.5–93%), zooplankton by Rotifera (62.5–86.3%), and macrobenthos by Mollusca (62%) at the western basin and Annelida (38%) at the eastern one. The total bacteria count and fecal coliform value were rare in Wadi Mariout water. On the other hand, the sediment samples have more total coliform (15–3348 cfug−1) than the water (0–12 MPN/100). Wadi Mariout ponds, similar to Egyptian Delta lakes, suffer from the eutrophication phenomenon, which must be treated by controlling the feeding wastewater supplies of the ponds. The study sheds light on the current environmental status of Wadi Mariout lakes, serving as the first comprehensive study to assess water quality, record and classify biodiversity, and provide a precise assessment of the water body’s situation. This will facilitate the effective management of these important Egyptian lakes in the future.

This study investigates the assessment of the water quality and microbial quality of the Nile River water within the Beni-Suef governorate in Egypt. Twenty water samples were collected seasonally from Autumn 2023 to Summer 2024. The findings showed a significant increase in nitrate, ammonium, and orthophosphate concentrations, especially in the vicinity of agricultural drainage points. Place, season, and inter-group interactions were attributed to the significant differences seen in the analysis of variance for all bacterial groups. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment-water quality index was used to assess each location's overall water quality. The majority of physicochemical characteristics were found to be within allowable bounds for irrigation, drinking water, and the protection of aquatic life. Extreme caution is advised in the Beni-Suef governorate's River Nile, even though the levels of water contamination are below WHO-acceptable thresholds. To preserve this essential water resource, recommendations include implementing sustainable agricultural practices, enforcing stronger regulations on polluting sources, and launching public awareness initiatives. These precautions include limiting the excessive use of organic fertilizers, establishing pollutant industries, and avoiding the use of wastewater and sewage sludge in agriculture.

The Nile River is the primary source of freshwater in Egypt. The water quality of seven permanent Nile Islands (three upstream in Aswan and four downstream in Cairo) was assessed using a variety of chemical, physical, and bacteriological variables and indices. A total of 84 water samples were collected from the shores of the Nile Islands during the winter and summer seasons. Standard methods were used to analyze the water samples for various variables, including nutrients, bacteria, and heavy metals. A significant difference was found in most variables, especially heavy metals, between the shores of the Cairo Islands and the Aswan Islands. On all shores, Cu, Zn, Co, Cr, Pb, and Cd levels exceeded the acceptable limits set by international standards for aquatic life protection. The distribution patterns of these variables are strongly influenced by various island activities. The average water quality index for the Nile shores at various islands ranged from 79 to 90, indicating suitable water quality for aquatic organisms. The Nile chemical pollution index classified the water quality at islands shores as slightly polluted throughout the dry season. However, the heavy metal pollution indices consistently showed some degree of metal contamination on the shores of the Cairo Islands. Although the water on the Nile shores was not severely polluted, continuous water quality monitoring is important, especially given the potential decrease in Egypt's share of the Nile water, increase in contaminants, and changes in land use on the islands following the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Burullus Lake, which is the second-largest coastal lagoon in Egypt, is deteriorating due to nutrient enrichment and pollutant loading. The study aims to assess the lake’s water quality using water quality indices and microbiological assessment. Surface water samples were collected from Burullus Lake in winter and summer, as well as samples from drains that discharge waste into the lake. Most lake stations are classified in the marginal category based on the water quality index (WQI). Dissolved oxygen, ammonia, copper, and cadmium have the greatest impact on WQI, reflecting pollution loads. Based on the contamination index, heavy metal classification results ranged from “lowly polluted” to “highly polluted.” According to the Nemerow Index, human activity has significantly impaired the ecology of the lake and surrounding drains through copper and cadmium pollution. The fecal coliform/fecal streptococci ratio was less than 0.6 in lake water samples, suggesting fecal contamination from domesticated animal wastes. Drain water contaminated with fecal streptococci indicated frequent contamination. Several drains allow a significant amount of effluent, including high amounts of pesticides and fertilizers, to enter the lake, causing serious metal and microbiological pollution Dredging and deepening the inlet link between the lake and Mediterranean Sea have had a positive impact on water quality. However, there are still other options for improving the lake’s health. Therefore, it is recommended to routinely check Burullus Lake’s water quality and its surrounding drains to keep track of its condition and assess any improvement efforts’ effectiveness.

The demands upon the arid area for water supply pose threats to both the quantity and quality of social and economic activities. Thus, a widely used machine learning model, namely the support vector machines (SVM) integrated with water quality indices (WQI), was used to assess the groundwater quality. The predictive ability of the SVM model was assessed using a field dataset for groundwater from Abu-Sweir and Abu-Hammad, Ismalia, Egypt. Multiple water quality parameters were chosen as independent variables to build the model. The results revealed that the permissible and unsuitable class values range from 36 to 27%, 45 to 36%, and 68 to 15% for the WQI approach, SVM method and SVM-WQI model respectively. Besides, the SVM-WQI model shows a low percentage of the area for excellent class compared to the SVM model and WQI. The SVM model trained with all predictors with a mean square error (MSE) of 0.002 and 0.41; the models that had higher accuracy reached 0.88. Moreover, the study highlighted that SVM-WQI can be successfully implemented for the assessment of groundwater quality (0.90 accuracy). The resulting groundwater model in the study sites indicates that the groundwater is influenced by rock-water interaction and the effect of leaching and dissolution. Overall, the integrated ML model and WQI give an understanding of water quality assessment, which may be helpful in the future development of such areas.

This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of human activities on the ecological health and food chain at the shores of four Nile Islands in Great Cairo including El-Qeratten, El-Waraq, El-Zamalek, and El-Manial. Water quality, bacteria, phytoplankton, benthic algae, zooplankton, macrobenthic invertebrates, and bony fishes were examined at each island shore over two seasons including the lowest and the highest flow (February and July 2020, respectively). The obtained results showed that the average values of most of the chemicals in Nile Island’s water were within the Egyptian water quality limits. Discriminant analysis of physicochemical factors revealed a similarity between El-Waraq and El-Qerateen and between El-Manial and El-Zamalek. El-Qeratten was the most polluted island. It has the highest total and fecal coliform bacteria count (3.155 and 3.050 Log MPN/100 mL, respectively). El-Zamalek shores have the highest phytoplankton (33,582 cells × 104 L−1) and zooplankton count (310,891 organisms × m−3) and phyto-biochemical values. Biochemical analysis of phytoplankton demonstrated the richness of the bulk by protein (> 85% of biomass), indicating that phytoplankton has a high nutritional value. Elevated zooplankton count was recorded at El-Zamalek, which coincided with the peak of phytoplankton abundance. Mollusca were the dominant macrobenthic invertebrates on most of the island’s shores. Bony fishes were represented by 27 species and two crustaceans. The levels of the metals in fish samples were compared with the food safety guideline endorsed by the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/FAO) to evaluate the toxicity level.

Abstract In order to carry out this study between Abu Sweir and Abu Hammad, Ismalia, Egypt, fifty-two groundwater samples were collected. The data were collected to investigate the hydrochemistry and groundwater quality for agriculture purposes. Physio-chemical and water quality indices (WQI) have been used to determine groundwater suitability for irrigation. Among WQI’s used in the present work are; the sodium percent (%Na+), the salinity hazard, sodium hazard, the permeability index (PI), the residual sodium carbonate, (RSC), magnesium ratio (MR), and Kelly ratio (KR). However, the relationships between (Na + vs. Cl−) and (Na + vs. Ca2+ + Mg2+) suggest an ion exchange or silicate mineral weathering. Moreover, calculating derived chloro-alkaline indices reveal that more than ninety-six percent of the collected groundwater samples in the study sites exhibition exchange. Hydrogeochemical facies were evaluated through the Piper plot diagram, which showed that the groundwater collected samples are of sodium-potassium-chloride water type. Furthermore, the water quality index, (WQI), here was calculated and computed based on the integration of quality indices the in GIS platform. The applied approach explores a novel method for the implementation of weights, efficiency factors, and WQI in groundwater evaluation. The final outcomes considering the calculated and derived water quality parameters, it becomes apparent that most of the groundwater samples of the area are unsuitable for irrigation purposes. The resulted groundwater model in the study sites indicates that the groundwater is influenced by rock-water interaction and/ or seawater intrusion. Overall, the applied model of water quality gives an understanding of water quality assessment and evaluation for future development.

The seasonal relationship between the physico-chemical characteristics and the macrobenthic fauna community was studied in Lake Qarun, Egypt. Lake Qarun receives a huge amount of agricultural drainage water from the neighboring cultivated land via El-Batts and El-Wadi drains. Generally, the obtained results have shown a decrease in dissolved oxygen, transparency and increase in COD, NO3– and NH3 at the stations in front of El-Batts and El-Wadi drains due to the continuous pollutants discharged into the Lake's water. The WQI revealed that the water quality of Lake Qarun is poor for aquatic life. The macrobenthic community consisted of sixteen species belonging to three phyla, Mollusca (7 species) that was dominated by Cerastoderma glaucum, Annelida (4 species) that was dominated by Limnodrillus spp. and Arthropoda (5 species) that was dominated by Balanus pallidus. The structure and abundance of macrobenthic species were affected by many factors especially pollution from the drainage water contaminated with sewages, which affected all living organisms in the Lake. The WQI values of Lake Qarun ranged from 32.30 to 38.40 (poor class) and the average value in the whole area was 35.89 ± 1.64 that is ranked as poor for the aquatic life utilization. To avoid this undesirable effect, the pollutants that flow into the Lake must be treated before being discharged.

This study was carried out on Rosetta branch water and 3 drains (El-Rahawy, El-Soble and El-Gezira) that discharging wastewater into it, to assess the Water Quality Index (WQI) of their waters. This investigation was performed during the period starting from winter 2017 to summer 2018. The mean annual averages of WQI values of Rosetta branch water were good to poor for irrigation (up to 55) and from poor to very poor for aquatic life (up to 97) at stations exposed to wastewater discharged from drains into water branch. The obtained values of physical and chemical variables of Rosetta branch and drains water were matched with the standard values set by FAO (1994) for irrigation, Canadian Water Quality Guidelines (2011) for aquatic life and WHO (2007) for drinking water. The obtained results indicated that the values of examined variables were higher than the recommended standards which affects the environmental live in this area and producing healthy problems. The concentrations of physical and chemical parameter were higher during winter than summer.

Abstract Sediments act as a sink or source of pollution under various conditions. Moreover, they can serve as pollution indicators. The present research aims to evaluate sediment quality associated with its content in heavy metals and the potential ecological risk, focusing on the sub-branches of Nile River (Rayahs) in Egypt, including El-Tawfiky (RT), El-Menoufy (RM), El-Behary (RB), and El-Nassery (RN). According to the results, El-Rayahs sediments are characterized by an increasing sand fraction, followed by mud. Regarding heavy metals pollution, Cd registered the highest pollution ranking, whereas Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, and Ni exhibited the lowest effect. Furthermore, the ecological risk for El-Rayahs sediments increases northward; however, most sites either showed slight pollution or did not record any degree of contamination, except the northern stretch of El-Behery (El-Mahmoudia Canal), which is a very high-polluted zone, with high ecological risk according to the contamination degree (Cd) and potential ecological risk (RI) indices.

Sediments are utilized as a marker for events that endure long enough to manifest their environmental impacts and determine the contamination levels. The purpose of the present study was to highlight the current sediment quality of four Nile islands shores by utilizing a variety of physical, chemical, and biological aspects and indices. In addition, the status of benthic diatoms and macroinvertebrates, as well as their responses to sediment variables were investigated. The metals followed a decreasing concentration order: Al > Fe > Mn > Zn > Ni ≈ Cr > Cu > Co > Pb > Cd. The outcomes of metal pollution indices revealed some localized contaminated sites, by mostly Ni and Cd. In addition, a moderate toxic risk from metals was observed for El-Keratten shores, while the sediments of El-Warraq, El-Zamalek, and El-Manial islands shores were at low toxic risk. A total of 112 diatom species belonging to 24 genera were identified in the total sample set, where most of the diatoms encountered were cosmopolitan. Metals had a remarkable impact on the composition, distribution, and dominance of diatom assemblages, but had little effect on diatom diversity, while there was a noticeable effect of grain size on diatom distribution and diversity. Thirty-four species of benthic invertebrates were identified in the collected samples from the islands shores. The dominant taxa and groups of benthic invertebrates at different islands were affected by various sediment parameters, where the levels and types of such variables differed from one species to another. Graphical abstract

In the current approach, a recoverable/bio-resistant membrane was innovatively prepared to be applicable in removal of Cu+2 and Pb+2 ions as water micropollutants. Nylon waste was currently exploited for removal of micropollutants, as low cost and ecofriendly alternative candidate for water treatment, i.e., "waste treat waste". Whereas, nylon waste was blended with chitosan to preliminary produce a polymer-polymer composite that could act as an effective physical barrier for water pollutants. Subsequentially, Nyl/Ch/Sarg membrane was produced by inclusion of micro-sized "Sargassum dentifolium" as non-living algal/costless bio-sorbent within nylon-chitosan composite, to be superiorly applicable in removal of water micropollutants, via adsorption-biosorption technique. Surface area was estimated to be 14.44 m2/g and swelling percentage was evaluated to be 45%for the prepared membrane. Porosity percentage was estimated to be 15% for nylon waste, and was significantly increased up to 28% for Nyl/Ch/Sarg membrane, meaning that, the porosity percentage was nearly duplicated. Nylon/chitosan composite showed to remove 28 mg/g of copper, however, after blending of algal biomass, the amount of copper removed was significantly increased up to 35.86 mg/g. Removal of the selected micropollutants was well-fitted to Freundlich modelling, while, KF was estimated to be 14.6 and 2.3 for lead and copper ions, respectively. Studying the recoverability showed that, even after 5 cycles the prepared membrane was capable for removal of 98% and 96% of Pb2+ and Cu2+ solutions, respectively. The bacterial colonization that affected on deterioration of nylon, was not affected on the morphological features of Nyl/Ch/Sarg membrane.

Egypt One of the global challenges in the water resources is the pollution as a result of urbanization, industrialization, climate change and other human activities. It is clear that, the anthropogenic activities are considered that main source of contamination in most aquatic environments, increasing the sources of heavy metals. In this context, we discussed the relevant finding of the heavy metals in groundwater in the area located between area between Abu Sweir and Abu Hammad, Ismalia, Egypt, and possible risk. A total of 20 groundwater samples were collected from the area between Abu Sweir and Abu Hammad, Ismalia governorate. Samples were collected for the assessment of water quality index (WQI) based on the heavy metals concentration. The heavy metals concentrations were reported in the following order: Fe > Al > Ni > Zn > Mn. The computation of WQI values across the study site for the heavy metals revealed that all the collected samples represent a low class except one sample. The calculation of the WQI for heavy metals in the study site showed all the studied and collected groundwater samples had an index under the critical pollution value except one sample (WQI value is 40) as result of higher iron concentration level. Therefore, no significant possible risk was observed across the study area for heavy metals.

Graphene oxide (1-3 wt %) interspersed on nitrogen doped mesoporous TiO2 (N-TiO2) and synthesized via deposition-precipitation technique was characterized using XRD, TEM-SAED, N-2 sorptimetry, FTIR, Raman and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Inspiringly, the nanoplatelets 2 wt%GO/N-TiO2 exhibited the highest photocatalytic performance than rest of nanophotocatalysts over the degradation of methylene blue dye (MB; 20 ppm, k=0.0146 min(-1)), phenol (15 ppm, k=0.0045 min(-1)) as well as a mixture of both (k=0.02 min(-1)) under visible light irradiation. The characterization results validated that the high activity is basically depends on the intimate contact formed between N-TiO2 and GO that facilitates not only photo-generated charges transfer but also helps delaying their recombination, as confirmed from electrical conductivity, IPCE%, cyclic voltammetry and impedance results. Other parameters such as structure, morphology, surface texturing and optical properties verified the importance of decreasing the band gap (1.6 eV), crystallite size decrement (7 nm) and pore volume (0.42 cm(3) g(-1)) enlargement than small differences in surface areas and shape similarity. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) experiments also demonstrate that the photocurrent density of 2 wt%GO/N-TiO2 is greatly boosted (3.9 mA cm(-2)) compared to rest of photocatalysts (1.6-2.4 mA cm(-2)) and pristine N-TiO2 (0.4 mA cm-2). The specific mechanistic information imposed the major role of % OH and electrons together with the synergistic effects manifested from N and Ti3+ moieties. The application of the photocatalyst 2 wt% GO/N-TiO2 in treating El Manzala Lake-Egypt from humic acids (146.0 ppm); attained from different sources, has shown fascinating activity as established from COD and TOC analyses.

This study was carried out on Lake Qarun and 2 drains (El-Batts and El-Wadi) that discharging wastewater into it, at Fayoum Province, Egypt, to assess the Water Quality Index (WQI) and miicrobial loadof their waters. This investigation was conducted during the period from autumn 2017 to summer 2018. The general annual averages of WQI values of Lake Water were poor for irrigation (69.61) and very poor for aquatic life (78.53). El-Batts and El-Wadi Drains were poor both for irrigation (55.45) and for aquatic life (54.45). Moreover, total viable bacteria count (TVBC) at 22°C ranged between 3 ×103 CFU/ml and 450 × 103 CFU/ml, and the TVBC at 37°C varied from 0.4 ×103 CFU/ml to 330 ×103 CFU/ml . Total coliform (TC) in the range of 0.3 ×103 - 46 × 103 MPN /100ml water , Fecal coliform (FC) in the range of 3×102- 460× 102 MPN /100ml water . Fecal streptococci (FS) in the range of 3 × 102 - 1100 × 102 MPN/ 100ml water and the numbers of E.coli fluctuated between 0.1×102 and 60 × 102 CFU /100ml water. The obtained values of physical, chemical and microbial parameters of Lake and drains water were compared with the standard values set by FAO (1994)for irrigationand CCME (2007) for aquatic life. It was found that the values of tested parameters were higher than the recommended standards and this affects the biota in the studied area and is expected to cause healthy problems.

Wadi El-Rayan lakes are a crucial source of irrigation water and fisheries in El-Fayoum Governorate of Egypt. It is part of the Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area (WEPA) about 125 km Southwest of Cairo. The present study was carried out to assess the present status of the lakes' water quality, especially after the increasing of uncontrolled economic activities within its boundaries. The results demonstrated that the upper lake water may be suitable for irrigation utilization, and the water quality is categorized as fair (WQI = 67). The two lakes are classified as marginal for aquatic life habitat, with (WQI = 52 and 61) for the upper and lower lakes, respectively. Eight heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were studied to evaluate the metal pollution in the lakes' water. Pollution index (PI) and metal index (MI) revealed that the water of the two lakes suffers from a different degree of metal contamination, especially for aquatic life utilization. In addition, the progressive increasing of salinity in the second lake enhances the remarkable deterioration of the lake aquatic environment that may restore the dramatic transformation story of Qarun lake.

Chlorination has been the major economic and effective drinking water disinfection strategy from microorganisms (Chowdhury and Champagne, 2008; Philip, 2017). Nonetheless, the implementation of the various disinfectant by-products (DBPs), especially chloratinted by-products (DBPs) which are correlated with cancer risks, as well as other acute and chronic effects on human health (IPCS, 2000; Chowdhury and Champagne, 2008; Ahmad and Husain, 2015; Steve et al., 2015; Freeman et al., 2017). The appearance of Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) in drinking water has become a topic of significant scientific regard during the latest decades since 1974; DBPs have been in the spot and discussed (Hrudey et al., 2015). Sundry hundreds of several kinds of DBPs have been distinguished and characterized ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: Received: Oct. 19, 2019 Accepted: Nov. 28, 2019 Online: Dec. 2019 _______________