Geology -- Egypt; Nile River; Water-supply -- Egypt
The Albert Nile to-day at Hillet-el-Nuer is capable of carrying 450
cubic metres per second. North of Hillet-el-Nuer, the Albert Nile has a
mean width of 75 metres, but owing to want of training and papyrus
swamps, the discharge dwindles down to 320 cubic metres per second. The
Albert Nile has in this reach a very good section indeed and by
beginning with the west bank and dredging round corners and closing
spills by dredged earth, an improvement of section and slope, backed up
by a permanent discharge of 450 cubic metres per second at
Hillet-el-Nuer, might speedily result in this very discharge of 450
cubic metres per second being obtained south of Lake No. We are here in
such swamped land that percolation would be practically zero. There are
only 200 kilometres of channel with all its curves, or 160 kilometres of
trained channel to work at, in which 75 per cent of the work is to hand;
and we have to confine our attention to the low supply without worrying
over the flood supplies.
Now the Bahr-el-Zeraf could be made capable of carrying 150 cubic metres
per second by an improvement of the inlet at Baker’s channel and by
dredging north of Ghaba Shambe, as will be seen by examining the
measured discharges of the Bahr. With the Bahr-el-Zeraf carrying 150
cubic metres per second and the Albert Nile carrying 450 cubic metres
per second, we should have ensured 600 cubic metres per second. As time
went on, improvements in the channels would make themselves felt, as
they are even doing to-day, and we might even have 700 and 800 cubic
metres per second at the head of the White Nile below the Sobat mouth.
We must always remember that it is assumed that the lake Albert
reservoir dam has been constructed and a supply of 1,200 cubic metres
per second assured at Gondokoro from January to May. If the Sobat river
were capable of regulation downstream of the Pibor marshes, we might get
an increase from that direction as well. The possibility of a good site
for a reservoir upstream of Nasser is very great. The Nasser gauge rises
and falls so slowly that there must be very great natural accumulations
of water upstream of it, which might be improved. The question of
quality needs study.
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