Using resistivity logs to estimate hydraulic conductivity of a Nubian sandstone aquifer in southern Egypt

The present study was carried out in the Khor-El-Ramlah area, in a Nubian sandstone aquifer. It is located in the western bank of Nasser Lake, southern Egypt, in a tectonically active area, which is dissected by many regional faults extending towards the lake. For this reason, the Nubian sandstone aquifer in this area is expected to be recharged by a large amount of seepage water from the lake. One important parameter used to quantify seepage is hydraulic conductivity. Since in this area there is no available information about hydraulic conductivity via pumping tests or laboratory examination of core samples, an attempt is made in this study to estimate hydraulic conductivity using available resistivity logs by applying the Kozeny-Carman model. The clay contamination effect on porosity estimation has been removed via application of the Waxman-Smits model. The hydraulic conductivity is estimated to be 9.5 +/- 2.5 m/day for the Nubian sandstone aquifer in this area. The present result is in agreement with the estimated and measured hydraulic conductivity values for the same aquifer in nearby areas and could be used to estimate seepage in this zone. The application of geophysical well logging often provides a cost-effective and efficient alternative to estimate aquifer parameters.