Messages from the Field

River morphological changes in Northern Sudan cause severe problems for the local people. In particular, sedimentation and bank erosion affect farming by reducing both the water resource and the already small cultivable parcels. Inlet channels of the major irrigation schemes in the northern region are severely affected by sedimentation and by the morphological changes of the river Nile. Inlets are clogged with sediment and become inoperative. The problem is not limited to losing lands, crops and power, because there are significant social, economic and environmental implications as well.

Following my graduation from IHE-Delft in 1983, I was appointed to work at the Sennar Dam up to mid-1986. After that I became involved, as part of the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, in a comprehensive morphological study of the Nile in the Northern part of Sudan. The study covered field work and laboratory tests on the Nile River in the reach of Amri-Karma (300 km), which is the major part of the Nile in the Northern region. The primary problems were the stability of the river reach, bank erosion and river widening; and the aim of the project was to find the optimal choice of mitigation measures. The case was studied by means of a physical model in which various protective works were reproduced. The best solution was selected based on the observed behavior.

This paper highlights how the technical and practical experience gained in Delft from the lessons and field visits was applied in several areas affected by changes of river morphology as well as in other fields, such as capacity building, and dam and main canals maintenance. The paper focuses on the challenges and on how their economic, social and environmental impacts were mitigated.

..read further in the PDF file..