Editing Economy of Egypt (section)

==== Groundwater ====
{{Also|Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System}}
Egypt's groundwater resources consist of both renewable and non-renewable aquifers. Renewable groundwater is primarily drawn from two shallow reservoirs associated with the [[Nile River]] system: the Nile Valley aquifer, with reserves estimated at 200 billion m³, and the Delta aquifer, with reserves of about 400 billion m³.<ref name=fanack-water/> As of 2017, an estimated 7.2 billion m³ of groundwater was extracted annually, with the Delta aquifer accounting for approximately 85 percent of this total. This extraction rate remains below the estimated safe limit of 7.5 billion m³ per year, according to the Groundwater Research Institute.<ref name=fanack-water/> Groundwater quality in these regions is generally high, with salinity levels ranging from 300 to 800 parts per million in the southern Delta.<ref name=fanack-water/> 

Non-renewable groundwater sources are located in the deeper aquifer systems of the [[Eastern Desert|Eastern]] and [[Western Desert (Egypt)|Western Desert]] and the [[Sinai Peninsula]].<ref name=fanack-water/>  The most significant among them is the [[Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System]],<ref name=fanack-water/> the world's largest known [[fossil water]] [[aquifer]] system. This vast underground reservoir, located beneath the eastern end of the [[Sahara]] desert, extends across the political boundaries of four northeastern African countries.<ref>[http://www-naweb.iaea.org/napc/ih/Nubian/IHS_nubian.html International Atomic Energy Agency: NSAS Project] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020163247/http://www-naweb.iaea.org/napc/ih/Nubian/IHS_nubian.html |date=2007-10-20 }}</ref> The system spans approximately 2.2 million km², with about 826,000 km² located in Egypt, nearly 40% of the total area and the largest share among the four countries, covering over 80% of the country's land surface.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hamad |first=Salah |title=Characterization and management evaluation of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer in Tazerbo wellfield of the Libyan man-made river project |journal=Applied Water Science |volume=12 |issue=7 |date=July 2022 |doi=10.1007/s13201-022-01684-6 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360754649_Characterization_and_management_evaluation_of_the_nubian_sandstone_aquifer_in_Tazerbo_wellfield_of_the_Libyan_man-made_river_project |access-date=25 April 2025|doi-access=free }}</ref> Estimates of its total freshwater volume are as high as 500,000 billion m³.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hosseini |first1=Zohreh |last2=Raeisi |first2=Ezzat |last3=Abdollahifard |first3=Iraj |last4=Teatini |first4=Pietro |title=Comprehensive hydrogeological study of the Nubian aquifer System, Northeast Africa |journal=Journal of Hydrology |volume=636 |date=June 2024 |pages=131237 |doi=10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131237 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022169424006322 |access-date=25 April 2025}}</ref> Due to the depth of the aquifer and associated extraction costs, current withdrawals in Egypt are limited to approximately 0.6 billion m³ annually, primarily for irrigation in land reclamation projects. Sustainable extraction is projected to increase to 2.5–3 billion m³ per year in the future, contingent on cost-effective pumping technologies.<ref name=fanack-water/>