Egypt is an arid region country. The River Nile is the main water source for Egypt with 55.6 billion cubic meters per year, which represents 94% of the limited water resources. With the fast population growth accompanied by intensive irrigation schemes for agriculture development and urban development projects, Egypt suffers from severe water problem. Most urban landscape project areas are irrigated, often overirrigated, with potable water. In fact, irrigation application efficiency for such green areas appears to be under 50%. This research was carried out in one of the large urban development projects in the suburbs of Cairo. To increase application efficiency and consequently save water and reduce water cost, measurements of soil moisture parameters (field capacity - wilting point - bulk density) were used as determinant factors to improve irrigation application efficiency.
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Two simple operational techniques were tested: 1) manually operated valves (MOV), 2- Automatic timer connected to the valves (ATV). The research findings indicated that both operational techniques gave better application efficiency with 69.5% in case of (MOV) and the (ATV) allowed 74.8% improvement. When both were compared to current application techniques, the results also indicated a large reduction in the irrigation cost. The (MOV) allowed saving 69.5% of the water cost while the ATV enabled saving 74.8% of the total cost. Treated wastewater was also tested using the ATV technique for the purpose of water cost comparison. When treated wastewater was applied, a 91% reduction in water cost was achieved. The overall study findings recommend that: 1. Soil physical characteristics must be determined and used for irrigation scheduling; 2. Treated wastewater is highly recommended to irrigate green areas in urban development projects; 3. The use of timer is also highly recommended for water-saving.
