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Introduction
Egypt receives about 98 per cent of its fresh water from the Nile river, which satisfies more than 95 per cent of the country's various water requirements ([1] Abu-Zeid, 2003). Egypt's share from the Nile water is fixed at 55.5 billion m3/year by the 1959 agreement with Sudan. The per capita share of water is continuously declining. The present share is below 1,000m3/capita/year, a figure that, according to international standards, is equal to the "water poverty limit" for a nation. This value might drop to 500m3/capita/year in the year 2025.
The largest user of water in Egypt is the agricultural sector, with its share exceeding 80 per cent of the total demand for water. Municipal and industrial uses account for 15 per cent only of the total water consumption. The current coverage of water supply services has reached 97 per cent for the urban population and about 70 per cent for rural communities ([4] Attia, 2004).
Egypt suffers from water pollution due to direct discharges of 3.8 billion m3/year of wastewater into the Nile River. In addition the river receives large discharges of pesticides, nutrients, and heavy metals from industrial activities in the Greater Cairo region. Industries such as electroplating, pesticide manufacturers, petroleum refiners, plastic and rubber manufacturers and painting are primary sources of heavy metals discharge directly or indirectly into the River Nile and other water bodies ([7] Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), 1992).
Consumption of non-essential metals such as Cd and Pb can result in neurological, bone and cardiovascular diseases, renal dysfunction, and various types of cancer, even at relatively low levels ([16] Reese, 1995). Lead ingestion from water may cause dangerous damages to human organs such as delay in physical or mental development in children. For adults lead causes hypertension, adverse effects on the central nervous system and damage to variety of man organs ([15] Ogwuegbu and Muhanga, 2005). Individuals who consume cadmium in their drinking water over the course of many years are at risk for kidney disease owing to the toxic action of accumulated cadmium on the kidneys ([5] Calderon, 2000; [20] Watt et al. , 2000; [11], [12] Jarup, 2002, 2003; [2] Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 1997). Copper is both an essential nutrient...