Powering the pyramids

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Dr Mohamed Raouf. programme manager, environment research, at the Gulf Research Centre.

Egypt relies heavily, and understandably, on the Nile as a water resource. It is estimated that 55 million m3/year of water is used as a resource by Egypt. However the dependency ratio on external water resources is around 96%.

The Aswan Dam, which blocks the Nile and regulates it's flooding, also acts as a major power source. The dam powers 12 generators which produce a hydroelectric output of 2.1 gigawatts. When the dam was first at its peak output it produced more than half of Egypt's total electricity production, although that figure has dropped dramatically over the years.

Although the dam provides the country with a good amount of power, the concept of a dam this big has been criticised. Dr Saleem Ali, principal advisor to the Asia Society leadership group on water scarcity reveals: "Large dams are not renewable or sustainable. They lead to both micro conflicts and macro conflicts."

Nile conflict

Conflict caused by the Nile has been evident for many years. There is a long standing tension between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Nile, and Ethiopia's proposed construction of dams on the headwaters of the Blue Nile. In 1979 the then Egypt president Anwar El Sadat declared: "The only matter that could take Egypt to war again is water."

Dr Mohamed Raouf, programme manager, environment research at the Gulf Research Centre, says the reliance on the Nile could cause problems: "It represents a serious problem because there is no other alternative for Egypt. Any decrease in Egypt's quota over the Nile (which is hardly nowadays meeting the country demands) will affect severely the development and all aspects of life in the country."

This over reliance also affects the countries surrounding Egypt. Raouf adds: "It affects mainly Sudan. Sudan like Egypt is a receiving country and any plans or projects in upper Nile sources will affect Sudan as well.

"It was also suggested for GCC countries to import water from the Nile but it was declined because both countries already having water problems and due to political reasons."

It has been suggested that the country can improve its water use in the future by improving irrigation techniques. This would reduce in less water consumption and can be done through a decrease of cultivated land, using modern irrigation systems and minimising the area of high water consuming crops.

The Gulf Research Centre also suggests that a larger emphasis on water recycling, through conservation of deep fossil groundwater, desalination of sea and brackish water and construction of super and infrastructure measuring networks, enhancing forecast and prediction mechanics.

Raouf concludes: "There is enough water in the river Nile for all ten Nile countries, the problem is that every country wants to maximise its benefit. Egypt is capable and should play an effective role through diplomacy, economics, or even threats, in order to get the various countries involved in a joint project that can benefit all countries so every single country is a winner."

Egypt is a country that seems to have solutions to some of its problems, but nothing but questions over others. While the government appears to have a comprehensive plan for power supply and the petrochemical industry looks about to take off, water remains an issue. However, with cooperation among the Nile countries, through groups such as the Nile Basin Initiative, this is not an insurmountable hurdle.

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