The Fayûm and Lake MœrisBrown, R. H. (Robert Hanbury)
History
The Fayûm and Lake Mœris
Brown, R. H. (Robert Hanbury)
Fayyum (Egypt) -- Description and travel; Moeris, Lake (Egypt)
(1) It would not make an efficient regulator for the control of the
Nile floods, unless it were to be expressly reserved for this object,
and its level kept low until all fear of the necessity of relief
arising had passed. If it were considered necessary to provide for
the relief of the Nile to the extent of 100 million cubic metres
per day for 30 days, the lake, having an area (at R.L. 24·00) of
600 million square metres, should be kept at such a level as would
allow of its receiving the 3000 million cubic metres without checking
the inflow in consequence of its surface level becoming too high. An
addition of 3000 million cubic metres to the reservoir would raise it
about 4¾ metres, allowing for evaporation for 30 days. This is about
the extreme duty the Wadi could perform as a reservoir of control,
if it were expressly reserved as such; but, if it is to serve this
object alone, the expenditure, which would be incurred in fitting
it to do so, would certainly be considered out of proportion to the
benefits to be obtained. An attempt to combine the two duties of
controller of Nile floods, and feeder to Low Niles would probably
result in failure, as the necessity of keeping the reservoir level
low to fit it to act as an escape-valve during September might make
it impossible to raise the level afterwards to a sufficient height
to render it an efficient feeder to the Low Nile.
(2) It would, however, make an efficient feeder for supplementing
the Low Nile, if the control of the flood Nile were neglected. If
connected with the Nile about Beni Suef, and also with the Bahr
Yûsuf (which could continue to flow into it after the Nile
ceased to do so), the reservoir could easily be filled to R.L. +
26·00. Assuming R.L. 21·00 as the level to which the water in
the reservoir would fall in summer, and allowing one metre for
evaporation for six months, the volume required to fill the lake
from R.L. 21 to 26 would be 600,000,000 square metres × (5 + 1) =
3600 million cubic metres. From November to January, say 90 days,
the Bahr Yûsuf could supply an average of 12 million cubic metres
a day at least, or 1080 million cubic metres, leaving 2520 million
cubic metres for the direct Nile feeder during the 90 days of flood,
or an average of 28 million cubic metres a day.
The reservoir would return to the Nile Valley 600,000,000 × (5 - 1)
= 2400 million cubic metres. Allowing for a loss of 10 per cent. in
the distributing canals outside the reservoir, we get a supply of
(2400 - 240 =) 2160 million cubic metres available for irrigation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account