Evaluation of Alluvial Channels Meandering Phenomenon (Case Study: Bahr Youssef)

Abstract

Abstract Bahr Youssef (B.Y) is a semi-natural branch canal connecting the River Nile with Fayoum depression, in the desert immediately to the west of the Nile Valley, about 92 kilometers southwest of Cairo, for irrigation purposes of El-Minya, El-Fayoum, Bani-Swif, and Giza governorates. The area served by Bahr Youssef reaches about 850.000 feds in the Middle Egypt, out of 1.650.000 feds served by the Ibrahimeya carrier canal, which branches from the River Nile's at Assiut barrage, and extends northward for 55 kilometers, until Dayrut city. In Dayrut; “Ibrahimeya” canal bifurcates into seven carrier canals, (Bahr Youssef is one of them,) through Dayrut Group of regulators. Bahr Youssef suffers from, meandering phenomenon, in many reaches, occurred with all its harmful and destructive effects. As meanders are the direct result of erosion-deposition processes occur in such flatty reaches with hydraulically unstable sections, our effort here is directed for studying the existing geometric, and hydraulic conditions of some representative reaches of Bahr Youssef, to evaluate the size of the problem through intensive field measurements, and to verify the available predicting techniques and theories by comparison with the obtained measured values. Introducing an acceptable, effective and easy method, which can be used for an accurate estimation of the meandering phenomenon, is the main objective of this study. This was achieved through reviewing and assessment of the available predicting techniques, and evaluating their liability, validity, and suitability through the comparison with the field collected measurements.