ESENSA-08 9th International Conference of Nuclear Sciences and Applications 11–14 Feb 2008 Sharm El-Shiekh – Sinai –

EG0800295 Estimation of the Pollution Level in El Timsah Lake, Egypt S.G.Abd El Samie*, M.S.Hamza**, H.B.Hassan* *National Center for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control ** The Middle East Regional Center for Radioactive Isotopes ABSTRACT The wide range of activities surrounding El Timsah Lake and the discharge effluent at the north and eastern parts of the lake led to high level of anthropogenic pollution in lake water more than the navigation activities. Heavy metals concentration increases in low salinity water toward the land from the discharging effluent. Whereas, oil hydrocarbon and water salinity increase toward Canal current water. This indicates some dispersion of oil ballast water of shipping tankers or from petroleum companies during transportation in the . Chemical and isotopic results indicate lake water stratification, low mixing rate due to slow current of lake water. This led to long residence time of the pollution load enhancing accumulation and precipitation of the heavy metals to the bottom sediment near the boundaries of the lake. Key wards: El Timsah Lake / Marine Pollution / Water Stratification / Navigation Activity. INTRODUCTION

El Timsah Lake is one of attractive place for tourism activity in . This lake locates to the south of Ismailia city within latitudes 30◦ 32\ and 30◦ 36\ N and longitudes 32◦ 16\ and 320◦ 21\ E. It has an area of about 8 km2 with average depth of 10m as depicted in Fig (1).

Fig. ( 1 ) Location map and sampling points of the collected water samples fromthe studied area

The western parts of the lake are shallower than the eastern one where the Suez Canal transverses the lake. The surface of the lake is slightly affected by natural drainage lines discharging their effluent to the Lake and to Wadi El- Tumult depression in the west. The average water volume of Timsah Lake is about 80 million cubic meters (1) originating from four different sources feeding the lake; 1- saline water from the Suez Canal, 2- the outlet of Ismailia fresh water Canal, 3- agricultural drainage water from El Forsan drain in the north, and 4- waste water discharges from El Mahsama drains (industrial, agriculture, and sewage effluent) to the western lagoon which connected to the lake. The amounts of the discharging effluents to El Timsah lake as recorded by the International Center for environmental and development (1) are shown in Table (1)

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Table (1): The amounts of the discharge effluents into El-Timsah lake (International center for environment and development (ICED), 1998)

Drainage source Amount of wastewater Agricultural drainage water undefined Out flow from Ismailia Canal undefined Treated wastewater from the western lagoon 1.3 x 106 m3/day El-Forsan wastewater drain 20000 m3/day Municipal wastewater from the western shore 2000 m3/day

These tremendous amounts of waste water discharging to the lake acquiring different water types and pollutants either from untreated sewage effluent, domestic or industrial wastes posses a negative impact on lake water. Also, the navigation activities can pollute ports and water ways by spills oil, human pathogens and toxins to the lake adding other sources causing health series for human and marine life. The harmful entry of these sources caused from many toxins adhere to the tiny particles are taken up within a few days by plankton and benthos animals. The direct impact the high loads of pollutants could reach the lake margin, which controlled by diffusion, water mass movement resulting from the hydraulic flow (tidal effect) and lake circulation as induced by wind direction and velocity (2). Another factor, which has a direct effect on retention time and distribution of soluble elements, is related to lake stratification. Though, this work is devoted to assess sources and pollution level in Timsah lake water with respect to major- minor ions, and oil hydrocarbons.

Climatic condition: As this area is dominated by a mild climatic condition though it has tourism activity either inside or outside the country. The climatic data records from Fayed climatological Station (3) represent that; the mean water temperature ranges from 29.3o C, in August to 17.1o C in January. The mean annual rainfall reaches 25 mm, with a maximum of 60 mm/y in winter season (November to March). The maximum evaporation rate occurs in summer (13.9 mm/day) and minimizes in winter to 5.5 mm/day and average wind velocity ranges between 6.6 and 9 km/hr. whereas its average relative humidity is between 44% and 61%, with the lowest values in summer.

Hydrogeological information: The formation of Lake Timsah has been related to the opening of Suez Canal in 1869 that led to the filling of the pre-existing inland lakes or their remnants with mixed waters of the Red and Mediterranean Seas. The extend of which has undergone some changes due to the fluctuations in the rise and fall of the sea, where the is about 1.2m higher than the Mediterranean. This fluctuation is mainly attributed to the change of sea level where it's higher at Suez than at from November to June, though the water current is directed northward from the Red to the . From July to October, the flow current moves southward due to the reversal tidal currents (4). Though, the flow current of water in Timsah seems to be remnants of what was in the connecting channel between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. The geological profile of El- Timsah shows an acoustically transparent veneer bed formed of soft silt clay starting from the bottom sediments. It is irregular in occurrence and is usually little more than a meter thick. Bedding is alternating layers of fine to coarse-grained sands. The layers are few meters thick, often silty or calcareous, sometimes, with gypsum or clay as minor constituent. The lithology of these sediments showed that gypsum and highly gypseous layers, muddy or sandy are present at depths ranging from about 8 meters to about 15 meters below sea level to the center of Lake Timsah as shown in Figure (2).

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Fig. ( 2 ) Geological profile of El- Timsah Lake along the line E- E\

Bottom sediment of Timsah Lake: The formations of the bottom sedimentary of the lake show the presence of fluviatile sediments in the central part which is identical with species now living in the . This indicates that Fresh water from Ismailia canal and some drainage water discharge its water into the lake Timsah. Wadi El-Tumult running from the present was most probably the course that delivered the Nile water to that area. These sediments are gradually replaced in the south by typical Red Sea marine sediment and in the north by Mediterranean sediments.

Sampling collection: Thirty four water samples were taken from El-Timsah Lake close to the discharging points of the outflow of Ismailia canal, El-Forsan drain, and also from the western lagoon. These samples were analyzed for major ions, trace metals, oil hydrocarbon and stable isotopes (18O and D).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The output results of chemical, oil hydrocarbons and isotopic analyses of the collected water samples were discussed on the basis of:

Water salinity: The detected values of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) show an alteration of water salinity along the lake which reflects the difference in salts concentration of the inflow water feeding the lake. The lowest salinity values were detected at the outflow point of Ismailia canal (S.Nos.1 & 2) and appeared in samples Nos. 26, 27and 28 near the discharge points of the western lagoon water at the western parts of the lake. The maximum TDS value reached to 47.1 g/l in sample no.25 at the north western edges of the lake as shown in Table (2).

Ion Dominance: Based on the detected ion concentrations, mostly these waters are dominated by chloride and - 2- - sulfate as major anions, whereas sodium followed by magnesium as major cations (Cl > SO4 >HCO 3 / Mg2+ > Na+ > Ca2+) in different concentrations. The presence of bicarbonate–sodium water type in - 2- - + 2+ 2+ sample (No.1) at the outflow of El-Timsah lake (HCO3 > SO4 > Cl / Na > Ca > Mg ) reflects the fresh water character of Ismailia canal before mixing with lake water.

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Table (2) Major ions concentration and pH values of the collected water samples from El Timsah Lake.

Major Cations (epm) Major Anions (epm) S.No. pH EC TDS mS/cm g/l Na K Mg Ca Cl SO4 HCO3 1 8.48 0.8 0.6 3 0.3 2 3 2 2.5 3.8 2 8.02 22.2 16.7 217 4.2 52 12 250 18.7 3.8 3 8.01 46.7 35.0 487 8.2 103 34 590 57.6 2.1 4 8.13 45.7 34.3 505 5.5 107 23 580 53.0 3.1 5 8.07 47.9 35.9 478 8.2 113 28 570 48.0 2.9 6 8.38 59.0 44.3 510 10.4 126 32 588 68.6 2.9 7 7.90 59.6 44.7 543 9.9 125 22 620 87.1 2.5 8 7.80 59.3 44.5 549 9.9 110 16 595 68.9 2.6 9 7.88 60.8 45.6 540 9.9 142 16 620 79.5 2.7 10 8.10 58.5 43.9 489 9.1 184 44 655 61.0 2.4 11 8.12 56.5 42.4 495 9.1 176 36 650 58.0 2.4 12 8.20 56.5 42.4 522 9.1 154 44 650 61.7 2.4 13 8.10 56.2 42.2 508 8.3 117 76 625 77.0 3.2 14 8.10 56.2 42.2 511 9.5 190 28 650 93.0 2.7 15 8.18 58.5 43.9 485 9.1 198 40 625 104.0 2.6 16 8.12 56.2 42.2 500 9.1 182 30 628 77.0 2.7 17 8.08 53.6 40.2 566 10.3 127 34 650 68.0 2.6 18 8.10 53.6 40.2 584 10.0 127 34 684 76.0 2.6 19 8.10 58.5 43.9 533 9.1 160 40 642 83.0 2.4 20 8.26 61.7 46.3 565 8.7 166 38 647 104.0 2.5 21 8.15 58.5 43.9 565 9.1 135 34 675 80.0 2.4 22 8.10 62.6 47.0 555 8.9 146 16 675 82.1 2.4 23 8.08 62.4 46.8 590 10.4 140 14 660 81.6 2.7 24 8.26 60.1 45.1 575 10.4 154 16 665 69.9 3.0 25 8.16 62.8 47.1 555 10.4 130 20 615 86.1 2.7 26 8.64 11.5 8.6 115 10 107 16 117 12.4 4.7 27 8.08 15.4 11.6 120 2.6 76 20 210 13.0 4.3 28 8.14 23.7 17.8 200 4.2 81 24 282 11.0 4.0 29 8.14 31.2 23.4 348 6.5 78 36 430 28.0 3.8 30 8.07 38.8 29.1 341 7.7 129 26 460 37.0 3.6 31 8.01 41.9 31.4 420 7.7 99 26 500 44.0 3.2 32 8.08 47.9 35.9 474 8.4 120 25 615 28.0 3.6 33 8.07 38.5 28.9 417 6.1 93 21 510 23.0 3.4 34 8.07 43.2 32.4 425 8.4 115 30 525 34.4 3.1

Fig. ( 4 ): Distribution of total dissolved solid concentration (g/l) of El-Timsah Lake water Heavy metals:

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Heavy metals are one of the hazardous sources threaten fishing, tourisms, sporting activities and marine biota in the lake. The concentration of heavy metals in the collected water samples were measured and recorded in Table (3). Heavy metals concentration is significantly high in the north and western edges of the lake more than the middle. High concentrations of Cd (90 µg/L), Ni (420 µg/L) and Sn (220 µg/L) in the north, whereas Fe (4200 µg/L), pb (2490 µg/L) and Cu (2200 µg/L) were detected in the outflow water from the western lagoon. Mostly in the middle of the lake these concentrations minimized except for Mn which attains its highest concentration (640 µg/L). The areal distribution of heavy metals concentration is depicted in Fig.(5. a, b, c, d, e and f) to illustrate the highest accumulation of these metals in lake water.

Table (3): Trace elements concentration in (µg/l) of El-Timsah water

S. No. Cd Mn Fe Ni Pb Cu Zn Sn 1 40 121 400 640 2000 640 800

Northern edge of TL edge Northern 13

Middle of TLMiddle 25 20 276

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Fig. {( 5 ) a,b,c,d,e,f,g} Distribution of heavy metal concentrations in Timsah Lake water

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Oil content: Petroleum oil is one of the major problem could be spilled to the lake due to navigation activities and transportation of oil tankers from oil companies along the or large ships carrying oils crossing the canal. Spreading oil in the current flow of Suez Canal water has a harmful effect on the lake margin (5). The lethal effect of oil concentration occurs in the range from 1-10mg/L, while sublethal effect occurs at very low concentrations 0.1-1 mg/L (6). The detected values of oil content in selected water samples were only found in three locations. The maximum value was present along the Suez Canal flow current water 20 µg/l. (sample 3) as a result of navigation activities. Also high oil content was recorded in water samples Nos. 24, 26 close to the location of marine construction and maintenance workshops on the lake shore. These concentration points to a significant level of pollution but doesn't reach the lethalic effect of lake water.

Table ( 4 ) Oil content of water samples in the studied area

S.No. Oil content of water S.No. Oil content of water samples in (µg/l) samples in (µg/l) 3 20 24 11 10 0 26 15 12 0 27 0 13 0 30 0 16 0 32 1 22 0 34 0

The GC chromatogram of the extracted oil from the Timsah water samples indicates that the origin of the detected hydrocarbons is mainly petrogenic mixed with biogenic hydrocarbons. These oils are subjected to different rate of weathering processes which affected by residence time and climatic conditions.

Stable isotopes: The isotopic analyses of the collected water samples are indicated in Table (5). These results indicate that δ18O of Timsah Lake water varies from 1.74 to 3.43 ‰ with an average value of 2.53 ‰ and δD has a range from 13.8 to 24.2 ‰ with an average value of 17.1‰.

Table (5) Environmental Isotopes (Oxygen -18, Deuterium) of El- Timsah Lake water samples

S.No δ 18O δ D d* (Excess) S.No. δ 18O δ D d* (Excess) ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ 1 3.43 24.2 -7.24 18 2.60 17.70 -3.10 2 3.23 22.40 -9.20 19 2.64 17.79 -3.33 3 2.64 19.45 -1.67 20 2.72 17.54 -4.22 4 2.01 14.45 -1.63 21 2.75 17.38 -4.62 5 2.09 14.69 -2.03 22 2.04 14.80 -1.52 6 2.00 14.32 -1.68 23 2.30 17.40 -1.00 7 2.00 14.88 -1.12 24 2.90 18.16 -5.04 8 3.43 18.40 -9.04 25 2.60 17.90 -2.90 9 1.97 15.26 -0.50 26 3.20 22.54 -4.06 10 2.58 17.67 -2.97 27 1.74 13.80 -0.12 11 2.71 17.78 -3.90 28 1.85 14.33 -0.47 12 2.70 18.21 -3.39 29 2.05 15.52 -0.88 13 2.54 17.20 -3.12 30 1.97 14.83 -0.93 14 2.64 17.18 -3.94 31 2.02 15.08 -1.08 15 2.70 17.78 -3.82 32 1.97 15.20 -0.56 16 2.62 18.30 -2.66 33 1.93 15.00 -0.44 17 2.60 17.33 -3.47 34 2.02 15.08 -1.08

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Highest δ18O and δD were observed in water sample (26) that reached to 3.2 and 22.54 ‰ respectively. This value is near to the value of the outflow of Ismailia Canal water which has the isotopic content of δ18O = +3.43 ‰ and δD= +24.2 ‰ (sample No.1), representing the source of fresh water discharging into the lake. The isotopic content of the other samples is relatively high with respect to the Red Sea water (δ18O = +1.98‰ and δD =+13.8‰,(7)) which may be attributed to: -slight evaporation processes close to the shallow boundaries of the lake that reflected from the relatively high negative values of d-excess parameter with respect to sea water (8), or due to the mixing between fresh/brackish and sea waters. The isotopic relationship between δ18O and δD showed that, these samples are clustered into three groups as indicated in Fig (6).

26 24 22 20 18 16 Delta D o/ooDelta D 14 12 10 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 Delta O-18 o/oo

Fig. ( 6 ) Delta 18O vs. delta D in per mil This separation confirms stratification of lake water, the mixing and dilution of the input effluent to the lake is significantly low. It also reflects the slow current of lake water (Abraham L. at al.,1995), where low mixing rate with long residence time of the pollution load enhance accumulation and precipitation of the heavy metals and other constitutes to the bottom sediment of the lake.

CONCLUSION Discharging effluents to Timsah Lake without adequate treatment is the major source of contamination which concentrated along the shallow boundaries of the lake as a result of water stratification, slow water current and low dilution rate. Though, treatment processes must be done before damping to the lake. REFERENCES (1) International Center for Environment and Development (ICDE), Environmental Profile of Lake Timsah Area. Technical Report No.1. 1998. (2) Lambarham A.., Imboden D. M., J.R.Gat,. "Physics and Chemistry of Lakes". Springer-Verlag Berline Heidelberg New York,. 1995. (4) Selim A. Morcos, and S.N. Messieh, "Liminology and Oceanography", vol 18, No.1,p. 121-130. 1973 (3) Wali, M.A Ashraf,, Carbonates and evaporates, v.6, no.2, p.225-238. 1991. (5) De Golyer and Manaughton, Twentieth century petroleum statistics, Dallas, Degolyer and Mac Naughton. 1990 (6) Thourya, M. Shamy, Ph.D Thesis, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University. 1986. (7) Abd El Samie S.G, and Elewa H.H., 2005. "Egyptian Journal of Geology, v.49, p11-33. (8) International Atomic Energy Agency, "use of Isotope techniques in Lake Dynamic Investigation" TECDOC-1206, 2001

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