Ibrahimiya Canal - Deirut Distribution Works

Deirut Distribution Works

At its 60th kilometer at Deirut, Ibrahimiya Canal begins distribution of its water. At this point, the canal widens into a kind of basin, along which six works of distribution are constructed. They are:

1. Inlet of the Sahelieh Canal composed of two arches, 3 metres wide each.
2. Inlet of the Deiroutieh Canal, composed of three arches, 3 metres wide each.
3. Inlet of Bahr Youssef (the main irrigation canal for Fayuom), composed of five arches, 3 metres wide each. Bahr Yousef usually gets one third of the entire water of the Ibrahimiya Canal. It irrigates west of Minya, Beni Suef and Fayoum provinces.
4. Distribution work for Ibrahimiyah itself, composed of seven arches, 3 metres each and a lock 8.5 metres wide for navigation.
5. A reservoir to carry back to the Nile the surplus water of the canal. This works consists of five openings, 3-metre wide each and a 8.5 metre wide lock for navigation.
6. An inlet of two arches, 3-meter wide each, for filling several basins on the left bank of Bahr Youssef canal, and at a level too high to be filled with Bahr Youssef itself.

After Ibrahimiya leaves Deirut, a series of distribution works control water discharges along its route. They are :

1. Hafez Regulator: at kilometre 90 in Mallawy. The original regulator was abandoned and a new one was constructed in 1989 as part of the US funded Irrigation Improvements Project (IIP). Upstream of this regulator, on the left side is the intake for the Serry Canal, a major offshoot from Ibrahimiya, irrigating more than 140,000 acres (570 km2) west of Minya.
2. Minya Regulator: at kilometre 120, in Minya. The old regulator (which is still used as a bridge) consists of three arches, 3 metres wide each. A new regulator 2 kilometers downstream of this old one was constructed in 1993 also as a part of the IIP project.
3. Matay Regulator: at kilometre 160. It also consists of three arches, 3 meters wide each.
4. Maghagha Regulator: at kilometre 188. Another structure with three arches, 3 metre wide each. It also has a weir.
5. Al Sharahnah Regulator: at kilometre 210. A 3-arch regulator and a siphon allowing drainage water to cross underneath the Ibrahimiya canal are found in this point.

After it leaves Al Sharahnah, the canal continues for about 140 kilometers but by the time it reaches Al Ayat in Giza, it is no longer a major canal, but rather a small irrigation canal with a width of 5 metres at the bottom.