الفهرس 
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Abstract
The present study deals with the groundwater resources and sustainable development of the lower Cretaceous aquifer in Sinai. The lower Cretaceous sandstone aquifer system is the
most promising groundwater system in Sinai due to its wide extension, huge storage, and better quality. The lower cretaceous sandstone aquifer covers an area of about 41,000 km’, of which 30,000 km’ occur in Sinai and 11,000 km’within Israel.
The lower Cretaceous aquifer system occurs under confined
conditions with the exception of the vicinity of the outcrops in the south where the aquifer occurs under unconfined conditions. The aquifer thickness increases from the south to the north from about 150 m to more than 400 m. The direction of groundwater flow is generally from the south to the northeast and to the west. This flow direction is distorted by the eastwest Raqabet El Naam fault in the central part of Sinai, and is also interrupted at faults in its northern part. The aquifer has a gradient generally less than 0.5/1000. The aquifer system attains a low hydraulic conductivity.
Chemical analysis of groundwater shows a gradual increase
in TDS from the south to the north ranging from about 500 ppm to more than 3, 000 ppm. The Carbon-14 isotopic analysis indicates that the groundwater was recharged in cooler and rainy periods some 20,000 years ago. However, at present it receives an annual recharge of about 5 Mm’ from rainfall.
As a result of the estimated low amount of recharge, the development of groundwater of the lower Cretaceous aquifer system should be based on extraction from storage. The evaluation of groundwater of the lower Cretaceous aquifer suggests that water can be extracted at the rate of about 6.5
Mm3 /year with a maximum drawdown about 150 m over an
exploitation period of 100 years.
Based on the aquifer thickness map, the potentiality of the lower Cretaceous sandstone aquifer is estimated at about
250 x 10’ cubic meter of water using GIS techniques. Until now, this aquifer has not yet been fully developed. Accordingly, a good master plan for its use will contribute to
the future development of Sinai.