Introduction 

The looming food gap crisis in Egypt has led to the reclamation of new areas that depend on groundwater.  Thus, a mega-development project (the national project for land reclamation) that intends to convert swaths of desert acres into viable agricultural and has been advocated as an ambitious development idea. Despite the crucial need for such rural development, depending exclusively on fossil groundwater reserves is a risky option. The associated intensive groundwater withdrawal policy would induce significant changes in the aquifers’ dynamics that could compromise the ability to meet future purposes. Hence, it is very important to utilize these groundwater resources with great caution. Accordingly, efficient groundwater management is inevitability required to avoid or control the anticipated severe consequences of resources overuse, in addition to long-term feasibility studies to guarantee the project’s sustainability. Achieving agricultural sustainability with judicious utilization of groundwater resources is a big challenge, especially under the proposed intensive pumping rates. The proposed study aims to provide the required scientific support to the local government to determine strategies that promote optimal groundwater supply for the ongoing and planned rural communities and cultivation areas north the western desert. The objectives are not limited to deciding a safe pumping pattern to avoid aquifer depletion and/or seawater intrusion. Yet, adopting optimality approaches-based groundwater simulation models would introduce exploitation plans that maximize the cultivation investment and ensure the aquifers’ adequacy for sustained development, simultaneously. Moreover, some mitigation measures (e.g., Installation of brackish water scavenger wells and subsurface barriers) are proposed as effective remedies to halt or hinder the intrusion of saline water. Undoubtedly, the targeted findings would be the underpinning for making sound local water management decisions, that could balance environmental protection and socio-economic welfare of our country.