Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188

https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-020-00442-5 Bulletin of the National

Research Centre

RESEARCH Open Access

Hydrological problems of flash floods

and the encroachment of wastewater affecting
the urban areas in Greater Cairo, Egypt, using
remote sensing and GIS techniques
Hanaa A. Megahed* and Mohammed A. El Bastawesy

Abstract
Background: This paper discusses the hydrological problems assessment of flash floods and the encroachment of
wastewater in selected urban areas of Greater Cairo using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS)
techniques. The integration of hydrogeological and geomorphological analyses with the fieldwork of drainage basins
(Wadi Degla) hosting these urban areas endeavors to provide the optimum mitigation measures that can be feasibly
taken to achieve sustainability of the urban areas and water resources available.
Results: Landsat 5 and Sentinel-2 satellite images were obtained shortly before and after flash flood events and were
downloaded and analyzed to define the active channels, urban interference, storage areas, and the natural depres-
sions response. The quantitative flash flood estimates include total GSMap meteorological data sets, parameters of
rainfall depths from remote sensing data, active channel area from satellite images, and storage areas that flooded.
In GIS, digital elevation model was used to estimate the hydrographic parameters: flow direction within the catch-
ment, flow accumulation, time zone of the catchment, and estimating of the water volume in the largely inundated
depressions.
Conclusions: Based on the results obtained from the study of available satellite images, it has been shown that there
are two significant hydrological problems, including the lack of flash flood mitigation measures for urban areas, as the
wastewater depressions and sanitary facilities are dotting in the downstream areas.
Keywords: Flash floods, Wastewater, Remote sensing, GIS, Urban areas, Egypt

Background important urban and industrial centers in many dryland

Populated areas in dryland regions have experienced areas where there is an adequate supply of surface water
great difficulties in better managing inhabited lands, (Hutchinson and Herrmann 2008).
which are usually under severe hydrological stress Urban areas’ growth and their infrastructure networks
(Arzani 2010; El Bastawesy et al. 2013a, b). According take place to the detriment of the surrounding landforms
to the hydrological systems, surface water supplies to which differ in their geological and hydrological prop-
urban areas can be a significant factor limiting the degree erties. The most suitable locations for urban develop-
of land use (El-Baz et al. 2000; Rubin 1991; Tooth 2000). ment are the low relief areas of alluvial fans, wadi beds,
However, economic expansion has led to the creation of and piedmonts (Dunne 1991). Notwithstanding, these
areas in drainage basin outlets usually contain potential
aggregate and row deposit supplies for building mate-
*Correspondence: [email protected]
Geology Department, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space
rials as well as groundwater resources fed by periodic
Sciences (NARSS), Cairo 1564, Egypt rainstorms and flash floods (Blair and McPherson 1994).

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Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 2 of 14

Consequently, flash floods’ impact on urban areas may processes (El Hames and Richards 1998; Robinson 1994).
vary from catchment to catchment and even within the This is why sudden flash floods often lead to devastation,
same catchment themselves depending on sediment and the wastewater impact is gradually increasing (White
loads (El Bastawesy et al. 2009). Besides, the encroach- 1995).
ment of urban features on alluvium beds increases sur- Remote sensing provides a fast data collection tool
face runoff coefficients due to laying down on the surface using multiplied spectrum wavelengths, allowing for
of impermeable parcels and pavements (El Bastawesy accurate diagnosis at different time intervals of the dif-
et al. 2013a, b). ferent land use and land cover. Hydrological data indi-
Flash floods are one of Egypt’s principal natural dis- ces include water ponds, waterlogged areas bodies, and
asters that cause cutting roads, sweeping away homes, active channels within a specific catchment which can
and damaging power lines. Flash floods occur mostly in be achieved using the multi-temporal sets of satellite
the Eastern Desert and Sinai regions, where high terrain images. (Subyani et al. 2009; El Bastawesy et al. 2008).
and incised wadis are present (Yousif and Hussien 2020; Data sets have been widely obtained using GIS due to its
Mahmoud et al. 2020). ability to handle remote sensing data and thematic maps
Recently, in urbanized areas within dryland countries, (Foody et al. 2004; Maidment 1993; Robinson 1994).
the creation of a perched water table, wastewater seep- This research uses remote sensing and GIS with field
age, and wastewater ponds has become common (El measurements to study the effects of recent flash floods
Bastawesy et al. 2012; Bahabri 2011). Indeed, dealing that affected several urban areas in Greater Cairo. Wadi
with wastewater, which is released at a rate faster than Degla was included as the chosen catchment for this
its proper disposal, is a major challenge for most urban research, representing various types of flash floods in
areas in the dryland (Abuzaid and Fadl 2016, 2018) and it terms of wadi system distribution and response.
is very harmful to the groundwater quality (Farrag et al.
2019; Megahed and Farrag 2019). Description of study area
Therefore, the importance of understanding the hydro- Location and climate
logical processes of these drainage basins is to avert the The study area is occupied by numerous wadi systems,
negative impact of flash floods, prone areas to wastewa- but Wadi Degla has a particular significance as its hydro-
ter seepage and pond (Chin and Gregory 2001; Cooke logical regime affects large urban areas and roads in the
et al. 1982). Unfortunately, dryland hydrological meas- southeast part of Greater Cairo. Wadi Degla is one of
urements remain insufficient to establish a detailed the important wadis with a length of 30 km. It is located
description of these systems. Moreover, the hydrological between latitudes 29° 51′ 51″ N to 30° 00′ 34″ N and lon-
procedures are not fully understood and the hydrological gitudes 31° 16′ 03″ E to 31° 39′ 11 E (Fig. 1). It passes
models are uncalibrated (El Bastawesy et al. 2009). Nev- through the limestone rocks in the Eastern Desert that
ertheless, most of these data are also limited and obtained had remained in the marine environment during the
by individuals or organizations during pilot projects and Eocene Epoch. Therefore, it is fossils rich. The height of
case studies which cannot reflect the diversity of dryland these rocks is about 50 m along the wadi. The rainwater

Fig. 1 Location of the study area and the urban features located within its premises on Landsat satellite image (October 2019)
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 3 of 14

dropping from the waterfalls affected the limestone rocks elevations between 250 and 615 m asl. It represents the
over the years. Wadi Degla catchment was selected for upstream of the different Wadis.
the hydrological analyses which exceeds area about 200 Geologically, the study area is dominated by sedimen-
square kilometers, and its main wadi floor is occupied tary rocks of tertiary and quaternary ages. The southern
by the Al Qattameyah–Ain Al Sukhna Road numer- part of Wadi Degla contains the oldest exposed rock out-
ous urban areas in Al Maadi area. The climatic data are crop which is represented by the Tertiary Eocene lime-
the most essential hydrological parameters to assess the stones of Mokattam Group. The clastic shale sediments of
flood risk in the study area. Generally, the mean annual Maadi formation cover a considerable area of Wadi Degla
rainfall precipitates about 23 mm in winter season in underlying Mokattam limestone. The Maadi formation
the study area according to the Egyptian Metrological is then overlain by the Oligocene rocks comprising the
Authority (EMA 2019). The mean maximum tempera- Gebel Ahmar Formation, which dominates a wide area of
ture is recorded about 34.7 °C in June, while the mean the New Cairo City and made up of sandstones and grav-
minimum temperature is recorded in January about 9 °C els. The basaltic sheet flows cap the Gebel Ahmar Forma-
and the relative humidity ranges between 40 and 56% tion in some parts (Moustafa and Abd-Allah 1991). The
(Table 1). Miocene Hagul Formation is represented by non-marine
deposits of fluviatile sands and gravels, while the Pliocene
sediments are represented by Kom El-Shelul Formation
Geological and geomorphological setting that is made up of calcareous sandstone (2–5 m) (Said
According to digital elevation model (DEM) and topo- 1990). Moreover, undifferentiated Pliocene deposits are
graphic map, the geomorphologic map of the study area found overlying Kom El-Shelul formation in some locali-
illustrates that it contains three main geomorphologic ties (CONOCO 1987). Finally, the Quaternary deposits
units including Nile flood plain, piedmont plain, and dominate the floor of the wadis, which drains to the Nile.
structural plateau (Fig. 2). The Nile flood plain includ- It covers all the area around the Nile as well as the culti-
ing the delta of Wadi Degla constitutes an area of about vated lands. It is made up of silt and clay with sand inter-
355 km2, and it was originated by a tectonic depression. beds (Fig. 3).
It is almost flat having elevations less than 50 m above
mean sea level (asl). Piedmont plain is a transition zone Methods
between the Nile flood plain and the plateau units. It Two satellite images of the Landsat Enhanced The-
dominates an area of about 500 km2 with elevation matic Mapper (ETM) and Sentenil-2 were acquired
ranges from 50 to 350 m asl. The structural plateau is (www.usgs.com) to detect land-use/land-cover changes
formed up mainly of limestone and is dissected by several and flash floods indices from 1984 to 2019 (Fig. 4a, b).
sets of normal faults. It has an area of about 700 km2 with Enhanced images were interpreted using ArcGIS 10.1

Table 1 The average climatic records of the study area during the period (EMA 2019)
Month Temperature C° Rainfall (mm) Evaporation (mm/ Humidity (%)
day)
Maximum Minimum Mean

Jan 19.7 9 14.35 25 5.5 56

Feb 22.3 7 14.6 17 7.6 48
Mar 25.4 9.9 17.7 13 10.9 41
Apr 30.2 13.8 22 8 15.7 46
May 33.9 17.4 25.6 2 18.4 45
Jun 34.7 20.3 27.5 19 20.1 46
Jul 26.9 20.1 23.5 5 17.7 43
Aug 26.6 21.5 24.05 6 16 47
Sep 24.9 20.2 22.5 9 15.6 47
Oct 21.2 16.6 18.9 23 11.8 49
Nov 25.4 12.3 18.8 12.5 7.9 40
Dec 21 7.5 14.2 10 5.7 44
Total 354.5 172.1 263.1 149.5 152.9 552
Mean 37.7 14.3 21.9 12.5 12.7 46
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 4 of 14

Fig. 2 Geomorphological features of the study area

software (ESRI 2006) to produce the thematic maps, created DEM was processed to extract the hydro-
urban features, active channels to determine the active graphic parameters for the catchment of Wadi Degla
contributing areas within the catchment, wastewater affecting the Al Maadi area using ArcGIS 10.1 software
ponds, and road networks and their intersections. The and Erdas/Imagine 9.2 (2014) for maps analysis (recti-
automatic classification techniques for these images fication, subset, and mosaic) (Fig. 5b, c). The embed-
have been ignored because features sites select in older ded “D-8” algorithm enables the automated extraction
dates during unsupervised classifications are difficult. of these parameters through multiple steps including
Then, different features were digitized from the various sink filling in the DEM to calculate the direction of
images to quantify changes and the active channels in the flow in one of its eight adjacent cells for each cell in
study area. The land cover map obtained shows that flash the elevation matrix. In the context of the downstream
floods in this area have environmental, economic, and gradient, the flow accumulation for each cell depends
social impacts. on the flow directions. The drainage networks and
Thereafter, the topographic maps of scale 1:50,000 watershed divides were delineated and then compared
(EGSA 1991–1997) were scanned and digitized to against their equivalents on satellite images for accu-
create a 20 m resolution digital elevation model racy assessment. The slopes of both the channels and
(DEM) for the western part of the study area. The hillslopes were obtained from the DEM data and were
digitized map sheets are of Cairo, East Cairo, Jabal Al implemented in Manning’s equation (Eq. 1) to estimate
Anqabeyah, Bir Gindaly, and Helwan (Fig. 5a). The the runoff velocities:
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 5 of 14

Fig. 3 Geological map of the study area. Modified by CONOCO 1987

generated at any point to reach the outlet is obtained

 
R0.67 S 0.5
V = . (1) from the accumulation of cell travel times. These values
n
can be grouped into sets of time-area zones at unique
time intervals (i.e., hours, minutes, etc.) required to
where V is the mean velocity in m/s, R is the hydraulic
deliver their outlet flows (Maidment 1993).
radius, which is defined as the cross-sectional area of
the flow, A, divided by the wetted perimeter, P, S is the

vij = cp × dp
slope gradient of its water surface, and n is the Manning (2)
p
coefficient.
It is quite straightforward to obtain the digital map where Vij is the output result of the convolution for cell
of the flow travel time given the velocity and the flow (I, j), d the slope distance between the centers of two
lengths using Arc GIS 10.1 software (Eq. 2). In down- adjacent cells along the minimum-cost path, c the unit-
stream flow directions, the time required for the flows distance cost value, and p the minimum-cost path.
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 6 of 14

Fig. 4 Raw data of Landsat satellite images a Landsat 5, 1984 (bands 4/2/1) and b Sentenil-2, 2019 (bands 7/4/2)

Results flash floods into the Nile, thus minimizing the impact on
The land cover map obtained from satellite images urban areas on both banks of that channel, the installa-
(Fig. 6) shows that drastic change in land cover has tion of a pressure pipeline for municipal water supplies
occurred within the catchment due to the urban expan- has created additional pressure on the need to mitigate
sion of New Cairo over the expanse of surrounding bar- flash flooding.
ren areas. These changes will affect the runoff coefficients The occurrence of wastewater pools in the area catch-
and the flash flood magnitudes delivered to the main ments creates more hydrological problems in the urban
conveying channels. Even though the capacity of the con- areas downstream. Wastewater seepage into the near-
veying channels is large enough to safely discharge the surface soil resulted in widespread waterlogging within
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 7 of 14

◂ Fig. 5 a A sample of the scanned 1:50,000 topographic maps used to

create a 20 m resolution DEM and to map the alluvial channels now
concealed by the urban areas, b the digitized contours of the study
area, and c the created DEM from the topographic contour maps, note
the extent of Wadi Degla catchment

the rural and urban areas in the area (Fig. 6). Conse-
quently, flash floods and wastewater pools in these areas
will have high a negative impact on urban infrastructure
and human life (Elsayed et al. 2020).
The time-area zones map (Fig. 7) is a representation of
the spatially distributed unit hydrograph, which is nec-
essary for determining the hydrography for any given
event once the rainfall and runoff parameters are given.
The scarcity or absence of rainfall/runoff data for the
catchment decreases the accuracy of estimation for the
hydrograph. A hypothetical storm with effective rainfall
of 20 mm was proposed to estimate the resulting flash
flood hazard in the area. The rating curve and its equiva-
lent hydrograph were determined for this specific event.
Consequently, scenarios could be developed for the flow
parameters and their likely impact on the areas down-
stream. Finally, the areas occupied by wastewater ponds
have been analyzed in the context of active channels with
urban areas downstream. The flash flood parameters and
hydrological analyses of the DEM of the study catch-
ment area have been used to estimate the hydrographs.
The geomorphological setting of catchments also is nec-
essary to identify the optimum storage area capacities
and to determine pathways required to ensure that the
discharges of flash floods create minimal impact on the
surroundings. The application of the spatially distributed
unit hydrograph (Maidment 1993) for the study catch-
ment area showed that the total flow duration would be
six hours and the peak discharge would occur during the
second part. The runoff coefficient for the catchment
would be of high great magnitude as a result of the recent
urban development of the alluvium areas within the
drainage basin (Fig. 7).
The estimated runoff coefficient from the nearby from
the study area (Helwan and Al Saaf areas) during the
flash flood event of October 2019 fell in the range of
20–25% of the total precipitation. For those catchments,
images were used to measure the active channels (i.e., the
peak discharge), the storage areas (the developed water
ponds), and the pathways of the flash floods within the
catchment. Unfortunately, those estimated parameters
cannot be retrieved for the study area as the remote sens-
ing indicators for the flash floods (such as slack deposits
and active channels) were not found on the investigated
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 8 of 14

Fig. 6 The units of land use/land cover in the downstream area of Wadi Degla

available satellite images. Given the high similarity in the land parcels and the preparation for terracing of the
relief and geology between Wadi Degla and the Wadis in plateau areas; therefore, the outlets of drainage basins,
the Helwan area, which were observed in the field shortly particularly in the western part of the area, have been
after the recent flash floods, we have, therefore, used the concealed under the existing urban sprawl. It is also pos-
same runoff coefficient and rainfall scenarios. The runoff sible that the gradient and aspect of the original drainage
hydrograph has been computed from the time-area zones lines have been modified through urban development.
and the effective rainfall of 20 mm based on topographic The use of topographic maps is very essential to show-
surveys of the storage areas and the transmission loss ing flash flood risk results, and it is one of the alternative
was neglected (Table 2 and Fig. 8). The estimated peak methods due to lack of hydrological data. The analyses of
discharge from the pools from the flash floods produced 1:50,000 topographic maps of 1984 revealed some impor-
approximately 110 m3/s. Investigating the allocated chan- tant information on the drainage basins because large
nel for conveying the flash flood showed that the dimen- areas were barren in the study area.
sions of the cross sections and the culverts under the
main roads are not sizable enough to safely discharge Problems definition
this water into the Nile. Therefore, it is strongly recom- The study area was exposed to the rainfall storm causing
mended that locations suitable for the construction of a flash flood in October 2019 with values around 30.3 and
retention and storage dams be ascertained. 33.27 mm. This flood caused many damages in the study
area in which the runoff water flooded most of the main
Discussion roads and many urban areas were submerged. From avail-
The original landscape fluvial setting of the study area able satellite images showed, main hydrological problems
has been altered by anthropogenic activities, such as the include a major pipeline for freshwater supplies to New
widespread excavation of quarries which were very com- Cairo that has been installed into the active channel of
mon in large areas, and therefore increased the aggre- this wadi, which was originally allocated for convey-
gates, sand, and clay materials found within. Urban ing inundations to the Nile near Al Maadi area (Fig. 9).
encroachment has been associated with the leveling of Another hydrological problem in the Wadi Degla area
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 9 of 14

Fig. 7 The estimated time-area cascading zones for the catchment. The GIS spatially distributed unit hydrograph was then estimated given the
estimation of effective rainfall routed from these zones to the outlet

Table 2 Calculation of effective rainfall, resulting runoff,

and time zones from outlet to upstream
Time zones Area Effective Resulting runoff
from outlet (square rainfall (cubic meters)
to upstream (hours) kilometer) (mm)

1 41 20 820,000
2 55 20 1,100,000
3 45 20 900,000
4 45 20 900,000
5 32 20 640,000
6 37 20 740,000
Total 255 20 4,800,000
Fig. 8 The estimated hydrograph for the flash flood event of October
2019 in Wadi Degla
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 10 of 14

Fig. 9 Field photographs for the pipeline in Wadi Degla (a, b, respectively)

is the development of wastewater ponds in the resulting patterns, and contributing areas and the characteristics
depressions from quarrying, which are intercepting the of the groundwater aquifer in the area. Selected storage
seepages from land uses upstream onto a thick imper- dams that are constructed in the main wadis upstream
meable substrate of the Tertiary shale and marl (Figs. 10, may be more efficient based on the properties of near-
11). The problem of wastewater ponding is closely asso- surface groundwater aquifers which are controlled by
ciated with the development of the perched water table subsurface geological structures (Fig. 13).
in neighboring urban areas; therefore, the sustainability
of urban assets is greatly affected. Given these challenges, Conclusion
analyses of the interplay of the land uses and hydrogeol- Remote sensing techniques are proved very useful to
ogy of the wadi system will define optimum management define active channels and vulnerable areas of flash flood
strategies for flash floods and the groundwater problems. effects. It is strongly recommended to obtain specific
field measurements for the runoff and transmission loss
Hydrological analysis to better estimate the flash flood parameters. The hydro-
GIS which is of great benefit in the hydrological analy- graphical analyses for the drainage basins in the study
sis is estimating the flow parameters in the catchments of area were performed using the available DEM, remote
urban areas (El Bastawesy et al. 2009) to determine the sensing images with fieldwork. The hydrographic and
pathways prone to flash floods activity and wastewater hydrologic parameters including (drainage networks,
for urban areas. Analysis of DEM has been commonly catchment areas, etc.) were automatically extracted from
used to determine various hydrographic parameters inte- the DEM using the hydrological analysis functionalities
grated with GIS, such as flow directions, accumulations, of ArcGIS. One of the main conclusions in this research
lengths, and drainage networks (Fig. 12). is that the flash flood poses a threat to the infrastruc-
From hydrological analysis results, it was observed that tures downstream as the existing mitigation measures
the main wadi floor is dotted by few depressions of the were very limited and insufficient. Some urban areas in
quarrying activities, and these depressions acted as stor- Greater Cairo were completely destroyed during the
age ponds that attenuate the lag time and peak discharge. flash flood of October 2019. Also, the incompetence of
The different land uses downstream remain vulnerable to their cross-sectional areas to pass the delivered flows
flooding risk as the dimensions of the designed channel allowed the rapid accumulation of runoff and the cross-
in the outlet areas are not capable to safely discharge the ing of torrential flows on top of the road surface. Conse-
estimated peak flows into the Nile. Therefore, it is neces- quently, the road in this area has been destroyed. Finally,
sary to consider the construction of the main dam in the the alleviation of flash flooding in the study area should
upstream area not only to prevent significant amounts of be given more significant, as large amount of wastewater
the flash flood reaching the downstream but also to con- flows in the quarrying depressions in the lower parts of
trol the resulting peak discharge. The site selection of this the wadis. In conclusion, flash floods can have a devas-
dam is controlled by the local geological setting, drainage tating impact when not adequately controlled. Therefore,
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 11 of 14

Fig. 10 Landsat 8 satellite image showing the problems of water ponding and water logging within Wadi Degla

the planning of flash flood controls is paramount. The strict supervision of wastewater treatment plants, thus
present study recommends management to control the protecting the area around the outlets of potable water
seepage of wastewater from the study area as well as the treatment plants.
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 12 of 14

Fig. 11 Field photographs showing a wastewater pond in Wadi Degla area from the seepage of land uses upstream and the impact of seepage on
waterlogging and salt weathering in the outcrops in the study area (a, b, respectively)

Fig. 12 a Digital elevations model (DEM) of the study area to estimate, b flow accumulations, c flow directions, and d drainage networks
Megahed and El Bastawesy Bull Natl Res Cent (2020) 44:188 Page 13 of 14

Fig. 13 Landsat satellite image showing the locations selected for the construction of storage dams according to active channel location in the
Wadi basin

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