International Water Resources Association 205

Water International, Volume 32, Number 2, Pg. 205-218, June 2007

© 2007 International Water Resources Association

Water Resources In Egypt:

Future Challeges and Opportunities

Mohamed Nasr Allam Professor and Head of the Irrigation and Drainage Department,
Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, and Gamal Ibrahim Allam Professor, National
Water Research Center, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation

Abstract: Water is one of the most important inputs for economic development. As the demand increases,
so too does the importance of water. This is clearly the case in Egypt, where rainfall is rare and the governmentally
enforced quota for withdrawal from the Nile River has not changed since 1959. The water demand has multiplied
as a result of population growth, agricultural expansion, as well as industrial development and a rise in the
standard of living. In this paper, a vision for the future water status in Egypt is presented. This vision is based
on a perception of the current status of the available water resources. The water uses, the water use efficiency,
the institutional and legislative frameworks of water management, and the strategies and policies to rationalize
water use and to augment water supply are discussed. The local, regional and international governing and
controlling factors of water utilization and management in Egypt are also analyzed and discussed. Three future
water scenarios for year 2020, each reflecting alternate programs to develop the water systems and to rationalize
the water uses, are presented. All scenarios showed that Egypt will suffer considerable water shortages in
the near future. Recommendations to help overcome anticipated water challenges and to optimize the available
opportunities are provided.

INTRODUCTION users as well as consumers of water, while other sectors

Water resources in Egypt are confined to the
withdrawal quota from the Nile water; the limited amount
of rainfall; the shallow and renewable groundwater
reservoirs in the Nile Valley, the Nile Delta and the
coastal strip; and the deep groundwater in the eastern
desert, the western desert and Sinai, which are almost
non-renewable. The non-traditional water resources
include reuse of agricultural drainage water and treated
wastewater, as well as the desalination of seawater and
brackish groundwater.
like river transport and hydropower generation only use
water without real consumption. Most data available on
water uses in Egypt are approximate and are not based
on field measurement, because there is no measuring
devices with accepted accuracy for the water uses for
either irrigation or the municipal and industrial sectors.
In this article, however, the data are checked, revised
and also analyzed, and the best data that are consistent
with the scientific estimates of the different uses, and
in agreement with the available few measurements, are
selected.

Agriculture in Egypt, as in most developing There is a real problem that needs to be

countries, represents the main usage of water, followed, addressed, analyzed and resolved. Egypt has very
but with a large margin, by the residential, industrial and limited, mostly imported, water resources and yet
tourist uses. It is worth mentioning that these sectors are prepares very optimistic developmental plans. Indeed,

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

206
Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities

many governmental programs have been initiated or water losses and optimally utilize those losses in equal
planned to rationalize water uses and increase their shares. The new quota allowed Egypt to increase its
economic return. In this paper, the different water uses, cultivated area to reach 2.4 million ha.
as well as the existing and planned water conservation
programs, are presented and discussed. Then, a proposal In 1975, the Ministry of Irrigation (MI)
for future scenarios is introduced. Based on the results established a policy aimed at rebalancing the water
of these scenarios, the risks and opportunities are status. Rebalancing was proposed through the
presented in order to facilitate the decision-making rationalization of crop water applications, in light of
process. studies and field experiments. The additional demands
were to be satisfied by the reuse of drainage water,
REVIEW OF WATER RESOURCES POLICIES expansion of groundwater utilization especially in the
AND PLANS IN EGYPT Nile Delta region and the optimal use of rainfall on the
northern coast.
In 1929, an agreement between Egypt and the
United Kingdom, on behalf of Sudan, was signed to In 1977, MI began preparing the National Water
ratify the historical Nile water rights for each country. Master Plan (NWMP) in collaboration with the German
The recorded water rights were 48 billion
���������������������
cubic meters Development Bank (KFW) and UNDP. The NWMP
(BCM) for Egypt and four BCM for Sudan. aimed at setting plans to satisfy water demands over
a period of 20 years (1980–2000). In 1982, MI reset
In 1933, the Government of Egypt (GoE) its water policy according to the results of the NMWP.
implemented a water policy designed to benefit from The new policy showed that 11.7 BCM of extra water
the extra storage of the Nile water upstream from the was needed to satisfy future water demands. The policy
old Aswan reservoir after its second elevation. That showed that this additional water could be secured
policy aimed at cultivating additional 160,000 ha in through Egypt’s share in the first phase of the Jonglie
Lower Egypt and converting 208,000 ha from basin to canal (2.0 BCM/year), which was designed to trap a
permanent irrigation, along with the establishment of small portion of Nile water losses in the Sudd region,
public open drains in the permanent irrigation areas. southwest of Sudan. Ultimately, this plan was intended
In 1948, GoE presented a memorandum to the cabinet to increase groundwater utilization up to 4.9 BCM/year
showing that after 1950 there would be a pressing and to expand drainage water reuse practices up to 10
need to find extra water resources. The memorandum BCM/year.
recommended several Upper Nile projects to increase
the river flow and to avoid flood hazards. After the 1952 In 1994, Ministry of Water Resources and
Revolution, the High Aswan Dam (HAD) project was Irrigation (MWRI) and the General Authority for Land
presented to the Government and was approved. Its Reclamation prepared a comprehensive and ambitious
construction was planned for inside Egypt, as compared plan intended to expand the country’s agricultural
to the upper Nile projects. horizon by 1.28 million up to year 2025. This would
be achievable by limiting the rice area to 280,000 ha;
In 1959, an agreement between Egypt and Sudan improving surface irrigation projects; maximizing the
had been reached for the optimal use of Nile Water as drainage water reuse, treated wastewater recycling,
an integral part of 1929 agreement. According to the and optimizing groundwater utilization, as well as the
agreement, the quota for Egypt and Sudan had been completion of the first phase of the Jonglie canal.
increased by 7.5 and 14.5 BCM, respectively. These
values were calculated according to the mean annual In October 1997, MWRI prepared a draft of
natural Nile flow at Aswan, Egypt, from the recorded ‘Water Resources Strategy of Egypt Until 2017.’ The
inflows for 70 consecutive years, i.e. 84 BCM/year. strategy also analyzed the projected water balance in
Moreover, it was recommended to trap the Upper Nile year 2017 for three scenarios: the first is for reclaiming

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

 207
Dr. M. N. Allam and G. I. Allam

612,000 ha, the second is for reclaiming 0.9 million ha, the head and tail of the mesqa. The fourth benefit is the
and the third for reclaiming 1.36 million ha. Securing reduction of 50-60% of irrigation time due to improving
the required extra water (about 24 BCM) was to be the conveyance efficiency and irrigation scheduling.
accomplished through the completion of the first phase
of Jonglie canal, an increase of groundwater utilization, The findings of that research project were then
water reuse practices, and a reduction of the areas of used in a large improvement program (1984-1996)
high water requirement crops (MWRI, 1997). implemented by MWRI on an area of 156,000 ha in five
Governorates. Another irrigation improvement project
WATER CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT started in 1997 over an area of 100,000 ha. The irrigation
PRACTICES and drainage law No. 12 for the year 1984 was amended
to recover the relevant improvement cost from farmers
Since the 1970’s, water uses in Egypt have at installments over twenty years without interest.
exceeded the available resources. Accordingly, the There were also pilot projects to establish federations
government has provided additional resources by of WUA’s and to form water boards to take part in
recycling drainage and wastewater, trapping water Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of branch canals.
losses, and with water use rationalization practices. On the one hand, the various irrigation improvement
At present, municipal and industrial uses involve projects have several positive impacts (Allam, 1995).
many negative aspects. These include high losses in On the other hand, there were various difficulties like the
the distribution networks; they also include the use of slow rate of implementation, high cost of improvement
clean drinking water in small factories, workshops, car (about L.E 3,500/ha), weak monitoring and follow up
wash, and in irrigating backyards and public gardens. programs, and funding problems for the pumping units
Other irrational uses include the absence of long-term for the raised mesqa (MWRI, 1998).
technical or financial plans for preventive maintenance;
and inadequate tariff policy. Municipal water distribution The government has imposed modern irrigation
networks in Egypt have witnessed great expansions methods on farmers in the new lands. Due to the
during the last three decades in order to cope with the relatively high maintenance costs, farmers removed
rapid urbanization projects and increased population. drippers or sprays and thus converted modern irrigation
In industry, several actions are required to rationalize methods into surface irrigation. The government is
water uses. planning to switch the orchards and other fruits farms
into drip irrigation to save about 0.75 BCM/year. The
The Irrigation Improvement Project (IIP) main obstacle that faces this program is providing the
in Egypt was started due to the impetus of a leading funds needed for modernization, as farmers have no
research project executed by the National Water significant incentive to share the cost as long as the
Research Center (NWRC) in 1977-1984. The project government provides their water requirements free of
examined various alternatives capable of improving the charge.
on farm water management practices, including laser
land leveling, developing mesqa (tertiary canal) and The high water requirements crops are mainly
water distribution structures, and forming water users sugarcane, banana and rice. Sugarcane is cultivated
associations (WUAs). This project provided several in Upper Egypt with a total area of less than 200,000
benefits. Firstly, it was responsible for land saving ha. Although one ha of sugarcane consumes triple the
due to the construction of the improved mesqa. It was amount of water required for one ha of sugar beets, it
found that 2% of the total command area of the mesqa is difficult to convert sugarcane agriculture into sugar
could be saved for agriculture. The second benefit was beets. Firstly, because most of the existing sugar mills
the increase in crop yield due to the better conditions are sugarcane mills. Secondly, sugar beet is a winter crop
of water availability. The third is the equity of water and may not be suitable for the relatively hot climate
distribution by improving the water allocation between of Upper Egypt. The solution may be the improvement

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

208
Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities

of the irrigation methods for sugarcane to decrease the and industry (1.75 BCM). The overall efficiency of
losses, as well as a gradual reduction of sugarcane areas. the water system in the year 2000, which equals the
The rice crop also presents a real problem for irrigation consumption as a percentage of the total inflow, was
engineers. In light of the deregulation of the prices of about 71%. This efficiency is relatively high, taking into
crops, rice became one of the most important lucrative consideration that the prevailing irrigation method is
crops for farmers. Its grown areas gradually increased surface irrigation, which has a low efficiency. This high
from about 280,000 ha by the mid-70’s to about 0.8 system efficiency is probably attributed to the intensive
million ha in 2000. Rice has become one of the most efforts of MWRI in O&M, and to the current recycling
important Egyptian exports in the agricultural sector. practices, in addition to the considerable experience of
The real intentions of the government towards this crop Egyptian farmers.
are not yet clear. The banana farms, on the other hand,
consume a lot of water. Most of the banana farms are in WATER ISSUES AND CONSIDERATIONS
the newly reclaimed lands with sandy soils. No action
has been yet taken to prevent or control these farms. Water Shortage
Egypt is located in a dry climate zone where
WATER STATUS IN YEAR 2000 rainfall is scarce and the desert covers most of the land.
In addition to its fixed Nile quota, a deep groundwater
Table 1 shows that in year 2000, there was a reservoir, which is not renewable, may be utilized with
balance between water uses and available resources a rate of 2.7 BCM/year over a period of 100 years. The
(Allam, 2001). To evaluate the efficiency of the irrigation higher the exploitation rate, the shorter the period of
water system, figure (1) shows a simplified diagram of use will be. Egypt is now capable of satisfying its water
the system. As shown in the figure, the total losses of needs, which are 25% more than the available water
the water system, evaporation and outflow, were about resources, through recycling of agriculture wastewater
16.25 BCM. The losses were 29% of the network annual and trapping water losses. The water shortage is the
inflow. Water consumption was about 39.75 BCM/year, main constraint and a major limiting factor facing
divided between agriculture (38 BCM), municipalities the implementation of the country’s future economic
Water Uses (BCM/year) Water Resources (BCM/year)
Sector Amount Resource Amount
Municipalities 5.25 Nile river 55.50
Industry 3.50 Groundwater (Delta and Valley) 5.50
River Transport 0.25 Deep Groundwater 0.8
Fisheries - Drainage Water Reuse
Hydropower - - Canals in the Delta Region 4.5
Agriculture 63.00 - Nile river and Bahr Youssef 5.0
- Illegal Uses 3.0
Waste Water Reuse 0.2
Rainfall and Flash Floods 0.5
Evaporation Losses (3)
Total 72.00 Total 72.00

Table 1. Water Uses and Available Resources in Year 2000 Source: Allam (2001)

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

 209
Dr. M. N. Allam and G. I. Allam

Figure 1. Water Status in Year 2000

development plans. Nile River reach of Aswan-Cairo, however, has several

sources of pollution, including untreated or semi-treated
The Relations with the Nile Basin Countries industrial waste and sewage water, agricultural drainage
Until today, none of the Nile basin countries water, flash floods loaded with sediment, and solid and
has endorsed the 1959 agreement between Egypt liquid wastes of Nile cruise activities (Allam, 1999).
and Sudan. However, there had been many technical It was also found that the level of bacteria is higher
cooperation programs between Egypt and these than what is permitted for both municipal and irrigation
countries. At present, both the Council of Ministers and purposes. There is also bacterial pollution and a high
the Technical Advisory Committee work to set up the level of ammonia in the Rosetta branch (National Water
legal framework necessary for regional cooperation Research Center, 1996 (b)). The Damietta branch also
among the Nile Basin countries. suffers from high levels of both salinity and ammonia
(Drainage Research Institute, 1996).
The previously studied water gains from the
Upper Nile projects in Sudan alone are approximately The salinity of drainage water south of the
18 BCM/year, as measured at Aswan. This water is to Delta is low (less than 1,000 part per million (ppm)),
be divided between Egypt and Sudan according to the and increases toward the north to 2,000-5,000 ppm.
1959 agreement. In the light of the present international At present, the drains, particularly in the Delta region,
circumstances, however, it does not seem feasible that are used as sewage canals for industrial and municipal
any of these projects can be initiated either now or in wastes. They are exposed to chemical and biological
the near future. pollution that minimizes the reuse potential of water for
agriculture. Some drainage water reuse stations have
Water Pollution been closed because of the polluted drainage water
With the steady increase of population and the (Abdel Azeem, 1999).
continuous expansion of urbanized areas, pollution
issues have increased too. The southern part of the Nile The groundwater aquifer at the newly reclaimed
River in Egypt is Lake Nasser (the lake of the HAD) with areas in the north and west of the Delta region receives
its clean water. The lake is void of pollution sources, leakage from the agricultural drains and irrigation
except for few agricultural activities on the banks. The canals, as well as from industrial and human wastes.

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

210
Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities

The Nubian sandstone formation in the Western Desert some examples of legislative concerns:
has high iron concentration in Abu Menqar (El Farafra
oasis), and the lower part of the reservoir has brackish a. ��������������������������������������������������
Laws are weak against transgression on irrigation
water, which becomes very salty in its northern parts. and drainage networks, whether on its water,
Control of the groundwater withdrawals, especially in embankments or perms. Concomitantly, the
the Northern oases and Siwa oasis, is necessary in order penalties for transgressing these laws must be made
to prevent the deterioration of groundwater quality harsher, thus emphasizing the government’s role in
(Allam, 2001). both monitoring and executing punishment.

Inadequacy of the Institutional Framework b. There is no announced policy for groundwater well
There is a real need for developing the institutions permits for the different groundwater reservoirs.
engaged in water resource management, in order to
be able to face the great challenges of water shortage c. The areas of groundwater well fields are not declared
and increasing water demands. Coordination among as protected areas against pollution and over
the involved institutions as well as decentralization of pumping.
the decision-making processes is becoming essential.
These institutional concerns seem crucial to overcoming d. Law number 48 for 1982, regarding the required
the inadequacy of the existing institutional framework. standards of pollution of the disposed wastewater to
These claims can be summarized as follows: the watercourses, exists only on paper most of the
time.
a. Lack of sufficient coordination between MWRI and
other ministries engaged in the water management. e. Suitable health and environmental specifications and
guidelines for recycling the agricultural drainage
b. Inadequate information dissemination and and treated wastewater in different activities are not
communication among the different institutions and well defined.
stakeholders increases the difficulties of the water
distribution process, and constraints the efforts f. There are no adequate legislations for the participation
for developing comprehensive water policies and of the private sector in water management and water
plans. services. Legalization of the WUA’s and water
boards is not yet established.
c. Decision making process in MWRI goes through
different levels in a centralized fashion. Lack of Public Awareness
The notion that Egypt is a country of water
d. In spite of the heavy burden carried out by the abundance became stronger after the high Nile river
district engineer in MWRI, he/she is surviving a floods during the late 1990s. This event led to the
permanent case of emergency. Many engineers do discharge of huge amounts of water into Toshqa
not accept this job, as its rewards are not equivalent depression upstream the HAD, the Mediterranean
to the time and effort needed. Sea and the northern lakes. The transgression on
watercourses increased, illegal rice cultivation
Deficiency of Legislation increased, and numerous unauthorized fish farms
As a result of the expanding utilization of appeared. In the cities and urban areas, the appearances
groundwater and the non-traditional water resources, of extravagance in water use are considerable.
there is a need for new laws to protect the resources and
to regulate water uses. It is also necessary to enhance Lack of Information
the capacity of the existing laws to face the continuing Egypt lacks the necessary data in various
threat on water and watercourses. The following are sectors, especially water. The only measured resource

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

 211
Dr. M. N. Allam and G. I. Allam

is the Egypt Nile water quota downstream HAD. Fragmentation of Agricultural Land Holdings
There is no accurate measurement for either rainfall Holdings Fragmentation is one of the main
or flash floods. As for water quality measurements in issues that threaten the agriculture in Egypt, particularly
watercourses, or for groundwater aquifers, they are in the old land in the Nile Valley and Nile Delta. This
very few, even along the Nile River and main canals. is due to its direct impact on agricultural production
The available measurements are both limited and for efficiency, marketing, water use efficiency, and even on
only a few elements. There are also usually done on the income of farmers who became among the lowest
distant intervals. income groups nationwide. The average holding size
in the 1920s and 1930s was more than 2.4 ha. After the
The operation of the irrigation network depends agricultural reform law, the average holding decreased
on water levels and not on discharges, relying on to about 1.5 ha. The present average holding size at the
hydraulic relationships between the level and the national level is about 0.8 ha.
discharge. With the present deterioration of the irrigation
network and the changed dimensions of the sections of In general, the average net return of one ha is
most watercourses, these relationships no longer hold about L.E. 3,750-5,000/year. So, the annual net return
and water flows in the canals are no longer known. Thus, of an average holding at the national level is about L.E.
it is not possible to accurately know the agriculture 4000, i.e. less than L.E. 350/month (LE = US$ 0.15).
water uses in the different regions. In addition, there are Without the animal and poultry wealth that provides
no meters on most of the groundwater wells and, of the extra income, farmers would not be able to cover their
few installed meters, most do not work. In the municipal living expenses. More fragmentation will increase the
water supply networks, high percentage of the meters, difficulties of irrigation management and thousands of
either on the network or at the outlets, do not work, and farmers may leave their cultivated land looking for a
the rates are estimated at random. Consequently, there better income in urban centers. Farmer’s immigration
is no accurate information available on municipal and will have serious social, economic and security
industrial water uses or on the losses of the distribution consequences.
network.
ANALYSIS OF WATER MANAGEMENT
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) PRACTICES
Most of the studies concerned with the potential
global and local effects of GATT showed that the In fact, most of the existing water policies are
benefiting countries from the agreement are, in general, impressive and sensitive to the need to overcome a
the most exporting ones, and that the countries whose number of water problems. Unfortunately, these water
food imports are more than their exports will suffer policies include several questionable issues. These
(Siam, 1994). For Egypt, the estimated economic issues are not only compromising the results of these
losses resulting from this agreement are about 180- policies, but also their effectiveness. The following are
236 million dollars/year. Siam (1994) showed that in some observations on these policies:
the event of the full deregulation of international trade,
international prices will increase by about 16%, and a. Most of the agricultural expansion projects are at
on the level of consumer goods, a high increase will the tail ends of the irrigation network, like the areas
occur in the prices of dairy products followed by sugar located in Sinai and in Toshqa. The drainage water
then wheat and rice. Abu Aly (1994) and Abu Mandour of those projects, therefore, cannot be returned to
(1994) estimated that this increase in prices would lead the water system. It must be either locally recycled
to an increase in the cultivated areas of cotton, rice and or damped out of the system. As a result, the water
wheat, which will have a direct impact on increasing consumption of these projects will be about the
agricultural water use. same as their total water requirements, which are
about 24 BCM.

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

212
Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities

Evapotranspiration Consumption
Evaporation
36.0 4.5 Rainfal Elsalam canal
Toshqa 2.5
l.0 1.0
1.0

55.5 Municipalities

54.50
11.5

HAD
" First Scenario " Outflow

Desalination
0.25

Toshqa Evaporation Rainfall

4.5 2.0 1.0
Evapotranspiratio Consumptio

Elsalam canal
4.25
55.5 Municipalities

51.0
7.0
HAD
"Second Scenario" Outflow

Desalination
Evapotranspiratio 0.5 Rainfall
n 1.5
Toshqa Evaporation
4.5 2.0 Consumptio
Elsalam canal and
projects
10.0
Municipalities
57.5
53.0
5.0
HAD
"Third Scenario"
Outflow

Figure 2. Future Water Scenarios

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

 213
Dr. M. N. Allam and G. I. Allam

Three scenarios for the future water status in

b. The dynamic interactions among the different water year 2020 are presented. The first scenario assumes
policy options were not taken into consideration at the continuity of the current water practices without
setting the water balance. Some of these interactions major changes, the second scenario assumes a relative
are as follows: development of the water policies, and the third
scenario is ambitious and reflects a radical development
- Diverting some of the Nile water to Toshqa will in water management practices in Egypt. Population
be deduced from the released water to the Nile growth rates were assumed according to the findings
Valley and the Delta causing negative impacts of the Third World Forum study on population and
on groundwater recharge and on the quantity work power, by Othman et el (2001). Table 2 shows
and quality of the agricultural drainage water. the main assumptions of the three scenarios. Tables 3
to 5 demonstrate the available water resources versus
- The irrigation improvement projects, reduction water uses for the proposed scenarios. Figure 2
of rice areas and modern irrigation schemes for illustrates the three different scenarios as resources and
orchard and fruit farms will reduce the recharge consumptions. Consumptions, rather than uses, were
rate of the groundwater, and will reduce the considered in the water balance calculations to avoid
drainage water and may increase its salinity. any debate about the possible losses and/or method of
water use calculations.
- Expanding the drainage water reuse practices,
even if the pollution problems have been solved, RESULTS OF THE WATER SCENARIOS
requires using agricultural drainage water with
relatively high salinity. Even after blending the As shown in the tables, the first scenario will
drainage water with the canal water, irrigation result in a water shortage by year 2020. If priority is
applications have to be increased by the leaching given to municipal and industrial sectors, the water
requirements to prevent salt accumulation in deficit will be in the agricultural sector. The available
the soil. So, water uses will increase by 10-25% water will be enough only to reclaim 0.12 million ha
or even more according to the salinity of the in addition to another 80,000 ha on deep groundwater.
drainage water. Figure 2 shows the impact of this scenario on drainage
water outflow to the sea and to the lakes. The efficiency
- Expanding the use of groundwater in the Nile of the water system, therefore, will increase from 71%
Valley and the Delta will lower the groundwater to about 75%. This relative increase of system efficiency
table, and hence reduces the quantity of drainage is a result of expanding water reuse activities and the
water available for reuse. relative improvement of the irrigation network.

c. The treated sewage water is currently used in irrigating The water deficit is avoided in the second
wooden trees, and is not, officially speaking, to be scenario, and water requirements for the two mega
used in irrigating vegetables and crops. Thus, addingland reclamation projects, Toshqa and Sinai, will
this water to the water balance of the country as a be fully provided. The total area of the agricultural
potential water source for the planned agricultural expansions in this scenario is 0.48 million ha, and 0.12
expansions is against the announced policies. million ha on the deep groundwater. Figure 2 shows
that the drainage water outflows to the sea and lakes
e. There is no participation of the private sector in the will be reduced from 13.25 BCM to 7 BCM. This
water services. outflow will be less than the minimum amount required
for maintaining the fisheries and the environmental
Future OPPORTUNITIES AND Water equilibrium in the northern lakes, which was estimated
Scenarios to be approximately 8 BCM/year (Imam and Ibrahim,

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

214
Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities

1996). The evaporation losses from the water system
will be reduced to 2 BCM/year, while the efficiency of
the water system will increase to about 84%.
�������������������������������������������
In the third scenario, the available water
resources are sufficient to satisfy the water requirements
of the proposed agricultural expansion projects in 0.8
million ha, in addition to 0.2 million ha on the deep
groundwater. The drainage water outflow to the sea and
lakes will decrease to 5 BCM, threatening the ecology
of the northern lakes as shown in Figure 2. In this
scenario, the total water losses of the water system will
decrease to 7 BCM/year and the network efficiency will
reach 88%.
Furthermore, drainage water will be carrying
about 2.5 BCM of untreated municipal and industrial
wastewater. Salinity of the disposed drainage water will
probably exceed 6,000 ppm, as compared to the current
average salinity of this water, which is approximately

Assumption Scenario
1 2 3
Total Population (Million) 94 93 91
Surface Irrigation Improvement (million ha) 0.50 0.80 0.80
Irrigation Network Rehabilitation C u r r e n tMore Attention More Attention
practice
Municipal and Industrial Water UseN o s e r i o u sMore attention Privatization +
Rationalization steps Tariffs
Drinking Water Supply Network Rehabilitation None Main parts Privatization
Drinking Water Supply Network Losses (%) 40 – 50 30 20
Wastewater Treatment Compared to PopulationMuch lower Improved Privatized and
Growth improved
Water User Association, Water Boards and WaterAs Current Established Empowered &
Councils Granted Legal
Liabilities
Restriction of High Water Requirement Crops New breedsDecrease in R e a c h the
with less waterareas of Rice optimal areas of
requirements and Banana Rice and Banana
Government Control over Pollution No Actions Efforts increase L a w and
regulation
empowerments
Illegal Practices of Drainage Reuse Continue Less Prohibited
Modern Irrigation for Orchard and Fruit Farms No funds No funds Yes
Completion of Horizontal Expansion Projects0.20 0.60 1.00
(million ha)
Public Awareness Current Increasing High
Table 2. Main Assumptions of the Proposed Scenarios

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

 215
Dr. M. N. Allam and G. I. Allam

Water Uses (BCM/year) Water Resources (BCM/year)

Sector Amount Resource Amount
Municipalities &  15.00 Nile River 55.50
Industry Groundwater (Delta and Valley) 7.50

River Transport 0.25 Deep Groundwater 2.25

Fisheries 0.00 Drainage Water Reuse
Hydropower 0.00 - Canals in the Delta Region 6.50
Agriculture 6.50 - Nile river and Bahr Youssef 5.00
- Illegal Uses 3.00
Waste Water Reuse 1.00
Rainfall and Flash Floods 0.50
Evaporation Losses (2.50)
Total 78.75 Total 78.75
Table 3. Water Uses and Available Resources for Scenario (1)

Water Uses (BCM/year) Water Resources (BCM/year)

Sector Amount Resource Amount
Municipalities &  12.75 Nile River 55.50
Industry Groundwater (Delta and Valley) 7.50

River Transport 0.00 Deep Groundwater 2.50

Fisheries 0.00 Drainage Water Reuse
Hydropower 0.00 - Canals in the Delta Region 8.50
Agriculture 69.75 - Nile river and Bahr Youssef 5.00
- Illegal Uses 2.00
Waste Water Reuse 2.00
Rainfall and Flash Floods 1.25
Desalination 0.25
Evaporation Losses (2.00)
Total 82.50 Total 82.50

Table 4. Water Uses and Available Resources for Scenario (2)

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

216
Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities

2,750 ppm (Allam, 2001).
The results of the three scenarios show that
unless urgent steps are taken to control population
growth, rehabilitate irrigation and water supply
networks, and rationalize water uses, it will be difficult
to provide water for agricultural expansions of more
than 0.2 million ha., If
��������������������������������������
those steps are taken, in addition
to the treatment of about 2 BCM of sewage water,
agricultural expansions of about 0.6 to 1.0 million ha,
including Toshqa and El Salam canal projects, will be
possible. The anticipated environmental deterioration
that may take place in the northern lakes should be
closely monitored and evaluated.
It may be difficult to achieve the last scenario
due to the huge financial investment required. The
absence of positive indications regarding the completion
of the Jonglie canal, as well as the absence of any kind
of consensus among the Nile Basin countries regarding
which countries can expect to benefit from the increased
river water low, represent more compelling reasons for
doubt.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A comprehensive diagnosis of the Egyptian water
system, policies, issues and considerations is reviewed
and analyzed. Three future scenarios that introduce the
future challenges, using the available opportunities, are
discussed and investigated. Recommendations to help
overcome the future challenges are as follows:
a.Intensify the government’s efforts to reduce the
population growth rate.
b. Efforts are needed to push forward the decentralization
process of water management up to district level. These
efforts should be accompanied by serious capacity
building programs.

Water Uses (BCM/year) Water Resources (BCM/year)

Sector Amount Resource Amount
Municipalities &  11.50 Nile River 57.50
Industry Groundwater (Delta and Valley) 7.50

River Transport 0.00 Deep Groundwater 3.20

Fisheries 0.00 Drainage Water Reuse
Hydropower 0.00 - Canals in the Delta Region 9.50
Agriculture 73.70 - Nile River and Bahr Youssef 5.00
- Illegal Uses 0.00
Waste Water Reuse 2.50
Rainfall and Flash Floods 1.50
Desalination 0.50
Evaporation Losses (2.00)
Total 85.20 Total 85.20
Table (5) Water Uses and Available Resources for Scenario (3)

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

 217
Dr. M. N. Allam and G. I. Allam

the proposed scenarios could suit the government’s

c. Empowerment of the existing water use and water ambitious development plan. However, the best
pollution laws seems crucial. Establishing an adequate scenario shows that the upper agriculture expansion
legal framework for water users associations and water limit is one million ha against the aimed 1.36 million
boards with more jurisdictions as for O&M, irrigation ha by the GoE.
scheduling, and fining the violators is also essential.
Improvement for the current water laws to allow References
private sector participation in water services is needed
to ease the financial and management burden on the Abdel Azim, R. A. (1999) Agricultural Drainage Water
government. Reuse in Egypt: Current Practices and a Vision
for Future Development. (Ph.D. thesis, Faculty
d. The real hope is the Upper Nile projects, which will of Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo).
increase the Nile water quota. So, it is necessary to
strengthen the cooperation ties through better cultural, Abu Aly, S. (1994) GATT Impacts on Egyptian
social, economic and political relations with the Nile Agriculture, Egyptian Journal of Agro-
Basin countries. Also, it is required to encourage economics, Special Issue.
governmental and private investments in the Nile basin
countries. Abu Mandour, M. (1994) GATT: Opportunities
and Challenges, Egyptian Journal of Agro-
e. The role of scientific research should take its place to economics, Special Issue.
develop new affordable desalinization techniques. The
same role is significant for introducing new agriculture Allam, M. N. (1995) Analysis of Surface Irrigation
seeds and breeds that have high productivity, high Improvement in Egypt, Journal of Egyptian
diseases resistance and low water consumption. Society of Engineers, 34.

f. A comprehensive national program is needed to
rationalize water uses in the domestic and industrial
sectors. Installing and maintaining water conservation
devices, revising the service tariff, using treated
wastewater instead of drinking water in watering
gardens and parks, recycling the industrial wastewater
and utilizing seawater and brackish groundwater for
washing and cooling purposes in the new industries are
highly recommended.
g. It is important to increase the governmental and
private sector interventions needed to raise the
public’s awareness of the water scarcity problems, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (1997) A
the rationalizations of water use, and protection of
watercourses from transgression and pollution.
Allam, M. N. (2001) Water and Agricultural Land in
Egypt: Past, Present and Future (Cairo, The
Academic Bookshop).
Drainage Research Institute (1996) The Year Book of
Drainage Water Quality (Cairo)
Emam, E. and K. Ibrahim (1996) Minimum Nile
Drainage Needs for Sustainable Estuarine
Ecosystem (National Water Research Center,
Cairo).
Draft Strategy for Water Resources in Egypt
(Cairo).

The results of the three scenarios show that Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (1998)
unless urgent actions are taken to rehabilitate irrigation Egypt’s Irrigation Improvement Program: 1.
and water supply networks, as well as rationalize water Performance Assessment, APRP-Water Policy
uses, it will be difficult to provide water for agricultural Reform project, Report No.7.
expansions of more than 0.2 million ha. None of

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007

218
Water Resources In Egypt: Future Challeges and Opportunities

National Water Research Center (1996b) Pollution

Control and Water Quality Conservation along
Rosetta Branch, Water Resources Strategic
Research Activity, Report No. 11, Cairo.

Othman, M., Elmahdy, A., Hussien, S., and E. Saleh

(2001) Population and Work Force: Directions,
Interactions, and Future Aspects, Final Report,
Third World Forum, Egypt 2020 Project
(Cairo).

Siam, G. (1994) GATT and The Situation of the

Egyptian Strategic Crops, Egyptian Journal of
Agro-economics, Special Issue.

IWRA, Water International,Volume 32, Number 2, June 2007