Ph.D Thesis entitled “Management of Contaminants Spills in Watercourses”

As part of the extended efforts to support researchers and enrich their expertise, Eng. Dalia Hassan Mohamed Shehata, Strategic Research Unit National Water Research Center, has received her Ph.D degree for the thesis entitled “Management of Contaminants Spills in Watercourses”. The goal of this research is to provide a risk assessment to evaluate contamination crisis due to a spill event as to enable decision-makers to take mitigation actions. As well as, a Risk Matrix provides a quick response that can be taken immediately after a spill is detected. This assessment aids in understanding and studying the effects of spill especially on drinking water supply. In this regard, the thesis presented that a one-dimensional model is created in HEC-RAS to simulate the hydrodynamics of the river and evaluate the water quality variability in a reach of 144 km long selected and schematized on the Nile River. A comparative analysis was performed to determine the accurate values of dispersion coefficients based on the real measured data at several monitoring stations located along the studied area. Also, a simulation of contaminant spill in the studied reach of the Nile River was performed to determine the vulnerable area and assess the correspondent real travel time. At the end of the thesis, an integrated system consists of risk assessment maps and risk matrix was concluded and spill characteristics are recorded at different downstream recipients.