WATANI International
10 January 2010
No two persons can differ over the centrality of the water issue to Egypt. With the aim of rationalising the use of water, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has kick-started a campaign to raise public awareness of the issue. A recent seminar was held at the church of the Holy Virgin in Maadi, Cairo, within the framework of the campaign. It came as a pleasant surprise that a large number of people not only attended but also interacted very actively and positively with the speaker.
Quadruple sized population
Khaled Mohamed Wassif began the seminar with a talk on the water problem in Egypt, in which he introduced possible solutions to the threat of water poverty. He outlined the three dimensions of Egypt’s water problem: limited resources, growing needs and deteriorating quality of water.
In 1959, Egypt signed an agreement with the then newly independent Sudan according to which Egypt was allowed to use 55.5 billion cubic metres annually. At that time, Egypt’s population amounted to some 20 million, meaning that the per capita share of water was an annual 1,893 cubic metres. As the Egyptian population quadrupled, the per capita share of water declined to 710 cubic metres in 2007 while the water poverty line was 1,000 cubic metres. Since quantities of groundwater and rain water in Egypt are almost negligible, the Nile is the main source of water in the country.
Agriculture consumes 85 per cent of Egypt’s water resources (35 – 40 billion cubic metres). Meanwhile, the industrial sector’s water needs are growing rapidly. The fact that a host of factories pour their various wastes into the Nile compounds the problem by negatively affecting the water quality.
Less water-consuming
The first question to the government official was whether rationalising household consumption of water would have a sizeable effect on the water saved, despite the fact that such consumption accounts for no more than 10 per cent of water use. Dr Wassif emphasised that preventing household water waste would still save large quantities of water. There is a need to upgrade their worn-out water supply networks, since these cause the loss of huge amounts of water, he said. “But since this process would cost billions, the government now focuses on upgrading water stations rather than networks.”
He asserted, though, that water used in agriculture had to be rationalised through focusing on crops that would be less water consuming. For example, he said, rice and sugarcane consumed large quantities of water. “A feddan of rice consumes some 6,000 cubic metres,” he said. “Farmers who grow these two crops usually complain that the quantities of water they receive are inadequate. But in fact they want additional quantities to expand their areas of cultivation.
Pollution
Asked about ways to confront Nile pollution, which has a harmful effect on potable water, Dr Wassif said that among the necessary measures was extending the sewerage network to cover the entire populated area of Egypt. “Until this goal is fulfilled, people should stop throwing waste into the river,” he said. “The authorities are now banning fish cages in the Nile. The fish are fed on chicken waste and other materials that pollute the river.
Although farmers over the world grow two crops a year, Egyptian farmers grow three. They use excessive quantities of fertilisers to compensate for soil exhaustion. These materials dispose into the Nile. As for the quality of potable water, this is the responsibility of the National Authority for Potable Water. The authority’s labs examine drinking water and make sure of its cleanliness. When potable water is not pure or has a bad taste, this is likely to be because water pipes in domestic buildings are old.”
Desalination
When asked why seawater was not desalinated and used for irrigation, Dr Wassif said that there are future projects in this direction but the process presented problems as it was very costly. “Some areas, including Nuweiba in the Sinai Peninsula, depend on desalinated water,” he said. “But this is not feasible in many other areas.
Dr Wassif dismissed the claims that the Nile water is ultimately lost into the sea, and indicated that there is a dam called Faraskour that prevents the unnecessary pouring of Nile water into the sea.
Some of those attending raised the issue of irrigating crops with sewage water. This, Dr Wassif explained, was a very complicated issue. “Agricultural drainage water flows into ditches where there are stations to lift it before it is shifted into a conduit,” he said. “In these conduits, water is mixed with fresh water before it is used again. The leftovers are examined, and if they prove to be valid they are reused in agriculture. If it is found that salinity levels are high, the water is used to irrigate trees. But some unscrupulous farmers use this water to irrigate crops. Tightening the grip of the law is part of the solution, but it is not everything. People should be guided by their own conscience and refrain from such harmful practices.”
No doubts
Finally, when asked about the effects of Israeli relations with nations of the Nile Basin on Egypt’s water security, Dr Wassif said Egypt too enjoyed close relations with many of these countries and partnered with them effectively on many key projects. The government, he said, included a specific committee for protecting Nile water. Anyone who doubts just how serious the government is about the issue needs only be informed that the committee includes representatives from the ministries of defence and water resources.