Below the radar: the boom of groundwater use in the central part of the Nile Delta in Egypt
The Nile Delta of Egypt is known for its large irrigated area supplied with water diverted from the Nile River, with a limited use of groundwater, largely for domestic and industrial use. Official statistics for the whole delta indicate that there are a few thousand individual wells used for agriculture by a population of over 2 million farmers. This study, however, shows that a phenomenon of groundwater development for irrigation has been unfolding over the last few years, largely below the radar of managers and researchers.