Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is preparing to begin trial operation of a digital twin for the Ismailia Canal and its branches as part of a broader drive to use digital technology to improve water management.
Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam reviewed progress on the project during a meeting on the ministry’s digital transformation efforts under its second-generation Water System 2.0 programme.
Sewilam said digital transformation is a key pillar of efforts to modernise water management by expanding the use of technology to monitor, manage and distribute water.
The approach is intended to provide accurate and up-to-date data to improve the management of water resources as well as the planning, operation and maintenance of Egypt’s water infrastructure.
The ministry is expanding the use of digital twins, which create dynamic virtual replicas of physical water systems. These models can be connected to real-time data collected through telemetry networks, allowing officials to monitor operating conditions, analyse performance and take preventive action before problems develop.
According to the ministry, the technology could also support decisions related to maintenance, operation and efficiency improvements.
The ministry is developing an integrated smart management system that connects its different sectors in real time. The system is designed to improve field monitoring of waterways and integrate operational plans with databases and information held by different departments, providing decision-makers with a more comprehensive and continuously updated picture of the water system.
For the Ismailia Canal project, Sewilam instructed the Irrigation Department to accelerate the installation of water-level gauges and telemetry equipment at several locations along the canal and its branches.
He also called for meters to be installed at drinking-water plants and industrial water intake points in coordination with the relevant authorities. Data from these meters will be integrated into the telemetry network and digital twin.
The ministry will also regularly update the rating curves used to determine water discharge at different monitoring locations along the canal.
Sewilam instructed officials to begin trial operation of the Ismailia Canal digital twin and use it in the daily management and distribution of water along the canal and its branches.
The trial is expected to help test and refine the system before the technology is expanded to other parts of Egypt’s irrigation network.
A digital twin of a canal incorporates the waterway, associated infrastructure and networks into a continuously updated virtual model that reflects conditions on the ground. It can then be used to simulate different operating scenarios and provide data to support water-management decisions.
