Egypt Attempts to Tackle Water Shortages; Can it Evade a Looming Crisis?

Egypt has been working to solve the puzzle of supplying its population with water – Cairo has cemented its irrigation canals to avoid water waste, as well as invested in purification and desalination facilities. However, while the nation’s population is increasing, and projected to reach 150 million people by 2050, these efforts might not be enough.

Thirsty Egypt

As home to part of the great African desert, the Sahara, Egypt suffers from constant droughts and little rainfall. To meet the demands of its population -- currently more than 100 million people -- it relies heavily on the Nile River. However, the problem is that its resources are gradually running thin.

"According to the United Nations, every person should have at least 1,000 cubic metres a year to evade water scarcity," said Dr. Nader Noureldeen Mohamed, professor of soil and water sciences at the faculty of agriculture at Cairo University.

The River Nile as it passes through Beni Suef, Egypt. The Egyptians fear water levels will go down if the Ethiopian dam goes ahead.

"Taking into account our population, Egypt should have 104 billion cubic water per year. But we only have 62 billion and this leaves us with a huge gap and forces us to look for solutions," he added.

Efforts to Improve Water Scarcity

In recent years, Cairo has come up with a number of initiatives aimed at curbing the surging threat of water scarcity.

They cemented irrigation canals to prevent situations in which the water is lost in the process of delivery. They gave up on flood irrigation techniques and dropped the plantation of crops that require high water consumption such as sugar cane and rice. Instead, preference was given to produce that doesn't "drink" that much water.

On the technological front, multiple efforts have been exerted to treat water. Last year, Egypt inaugurated the biggest treatment plant in the world, Bahr Al Baqar, that purifies around five million cubic meters per day. Reports suggest that the North African state is working on opening similar facilities in the future, with the aim of becoming the global leader in water recycling.

Apart from that, Egypt is also striving to desalinate water from the Mediterranean sea, and they are also working on discovering new sources of ground water. However, despite the progress of recent years, the situation is far from perfect, Noureldeen Mohamed says.

"We need to think of ways to decrease water waste and improve its delivery system, that stretches about 35,000 kilometres. But we also need to think of ways to reuse all waste water in agriculture," said the expert, adding that Egypt will face “disastrous” consequences if it fails to do so.

Drums of War?

Since 2010, there have been 263 notable conflicts over water. Many of them have occurred in the Middle East and North Africa, where water resources have been depleting in recent years.

Such a conflict might take place in Egypt, especially now that Ethiopia, located upstream, continues to construct its Grand Renaissance Dam that uses the Nile River to produce electricity, without the consent of Cairo.

"The Ethiopian dam is expected to decrease the water supply to Egypt by 10 billion cubic meters per year," explained Noureldeen Mohamed.

This general view shows the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2022.

"Egypt is already suffering from high food insecurity, whereas our population is expected to reach 150 million by 2050. To tackle this situation we need water. Only the supply of water can reduce our food insecurity from 65 to 40 percent."