Aswan High Dam Was it worth it?

1. Aswan High Dam Was it worth it? A case study of water storage and transfer in Egypt (an L.E.D.C.) Acknowledgement to : The Geography Portal site

2. Importance of the Nile River

3. Egypt has always depended on the water of the Nile River. The two main tributaries of the Nile River are the White Nile and the Blue Nile. Lake Victoria is the source of the White Nile and the Blue Nile The Nile River has a total length of 4,160 miles (6,695 kilometers) from source to sea – the longest river in the world Water Management in River Nile

4. Importance of River Nile Without the waters of the Nile River, Egypt would cease to exist – quickly. From an aircraft flying over Egypt, it is easy to see the stark contrast between the green narrow strip of land that borders the Nile and barren desert a mere few hundred meters away. Any threat to the flow of the Nile is a direct threat to Egypt’s national survival.

5. Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and come to give life to Egypt! Mysterious is thy issuing forth from the darkness. Watering the orchards, to cause all the cattle to live, You give the earth to drink, inexhaustible one! Lord of the fish, during the inundation, You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, Assuring perpetuity to all life. If you cease your toil and your work, Then all that exists is in anguish. If the gods suffer in heaven, then the faces of men waste away. Then He torments the flocks of Egypt, And great and small are in agony. But all is changed for mankind when He comes. He stanches the water from the eyes, and watches over the increase of His good things. Where misery existed, joy now manifests itself. You are the august ornament of the earth, Lifting up the heart of women in labor, And loving the multitude of the flocks. O inundation of the Nile, offerings are made unto you, Men are immolated to you, great festivals are instituted for you. Come and prosper! O Nile, come and prosper! O you who make men to live through his flocks And his flocks through his orchards! Come and prosper, come, O Nile, come and prosper! Adapted from an ancient Egyptian hymn to the Nile River.

6. Nile Flow • Average annual flow of Nile at Aswan from 1870 to 1988 was 88 billion cubic meters. • Late 1970s through 1987 were • unusually low flow years. • Annual flow of Nile measured at Aswan • has diminished significantly since 1900s. • Nile produces only 14 percent of Mississippi’s annual discharge. • About 200 million people live in • Nile Basin. • Population in basin predicted to double between 1995 and 2025. • Agriculture biggest water consumer.

7. Egypt Land and Population Data

9. Water Scarcity Issue • Why the Concern? • Water scarcity is single biggest threat to global food security. • There is little water left when Nile reaches Mediterranean. • Conflict most likely when downstream countries are highly • dependent on river water and is strong in comparison to • upstream countries. • Egypt has threatened war if Ethiopia tries to block the Nile flow. • Ethiopia responded no country can prevent it from using Nile water. • Egypt says it will not give up its share of Nile water. • Most upstream countries are seeking to use more water before it reaches Egypt. • Water is limited; riparian needs are growing; potential for conflict is real.

10. Countries Dependent Upon the Nile • The Nile moves through ten different countries, including Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Eritrea. • In 1990 the total population of the Nile basin was estimated at 245 million, with that number expected to reach 859 million by 2025. • Ethiopia contributes 86 percent of the total annual flow of the Nile. • The remaining comes from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, the Congo and Burundi.   

12. Countries Dependent on Nile • Ten riparian countries; most important • Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda. • Others are Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, • Rwanda, Burundi, and Eritrea. • 95 percent of Egyptians live in Nile • Valley and depend on river for fresh water. • Nile water is life or death issue for Egypt. • Nile is also crucial for Sudan. • 86 percent of water reaching Aswan • comes from Ethiopia. • 14 percent arrives via White Nile from • Uganda and southern riparian states.

13. Riparian State Cereal Production, Drought Years, and Power Statistics: Cereal Cereal Drought Electric Production Production Years Power Thousand Average 1980 - Consumption Metric Tons Annual 2004 Per Capita 2003 % growth KWH 1995-mr 1995-mr Egypt 19,800 3.3 0 902 Sudan 6,400 -1.8 10 57 Ethiopia 9,000 4.8 15 22 Uganda 2.300 3.5 6 NA Congo 1,600 0.1 0 45 Kenya 2,800 -1.9 10 121 Tanzania 4,000 1.0 9 58 Rwanda 300 10.2 6 NA Burundi 300 1.0 6 NA Eritrea 100 -3.4 8 NA Africa 129,500 0.8 NA

14. Legal Issues Over Nile • Legal Situation: • Historically, Egypt and Sudan determined Nile water allocations. • 1929 agreement between Egypt and UK gave Egypt 48 billion • cubic meters annually and Sudan 4 billion cubic meters. • 1959 agreement between Egypt and Sudan allocated 55.5 billion • cubic meters (three quarters) to Egypt and 18.5 billion cubic • meters (one-quarter) to Sudan. • Agreement assumed 10 billion cubic meters would evaporate • from Lake Nasser. • Treaties resulted in virtual Egyptian and Sudanese monopoly • of Nile water. • No other riparian signed 1929 and 1959 agreements. • Inherent incompatibility between “equitable share” arguments of • upstream riparians and “historic needs, established rights, and no significant harm” arguments of downstream countries.

15. Reasons for Aswan Dam Facts on Aswan Dam

16. Aswan High Dam • Begun in 1959 • Goals: • Provide water for agriculture • Prevent release of floodwater to the Mediterranean • Prevent flooding and provide water during droughts • Produce power

17. Aswan Dam • Before the dams were built, the Nile River flooded each year during late summer, as water flowed down the valley from its East African drainage basin. • These floods brought high water and natural nutrients and minerals that annually enriched the fertile soil along the floodplain and delta; this made the Nile valley ideal for farming since ancient times. • Because floods vary, in high-water years, the whole crop might be wiped out, while in low-water years widespread drought and famine occasionally occurred. • As Egypt's population grew and conditions changed, both a desire and ability developed to control the floods, and thus both protect and support farmland and the economically important cotton crop. • With the reservoir storage provided by these dams, the floods could be lessened, and the water could be stored for later release.

18. Aswan Dam • The Aswan Dam is an embankment dam situated across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. • Since the 1950s, the name commonly refers to the High Dam, which is larger and newer than the Aswan Low Dam, which was first completed in 1902. • Following Egypt's independence from the United Kingdom, the High Dam was constructed between 1960 and 1970. • It aimed to increase economic production by further regulating the annual river flooding and providing storage of water for agriculture, and later, to generate hydroelectricity. • The dam has had a significant impact on the economy and culture of Egypt.

19. Location Aswan is about 600 kms south of Cairo the capital of Egypt. Where is… The delta The flood plain The desert areas Libya Sudan?

20. Aswan High Dam holding back Lake Nasser on left, Aswan, Egypt  One of the Hydroelectric Generators located at Aswan High Dam.

22. Aswan High Dam • Dam construction in southern Egypt • Exploits the water of the River Nile • Construction was started in 1960, and fully finished 10 years later. • The embankment is 111 metres high, with a width of near 1,000 metres. • The Aswan High Dam, when it was build created Lake Nasser,Lake Nasser is 480 km long and up to 16 km wide.

23. Facts • The Aswan High Dam is 3600 metres long and 111 metres high. • The Soviet Union helped the Egyptian government to build the dam. • The Aswan High Dam has 12 turbines which generate over 10 billion kilowatts of electricity every year. • Construction started on the dam in 1960 and it was completed in 1971. • 30 000 Egyptian people worked day and night to build the Aswan High Dam. • Lake Nasser was created behind the Aswan High Dam. It is the largest artificial lake in the World (560 kms in length). • It is named after Gamal Abdul Nasser, the former President of Egypt.

24. Purpose Flood prevention Power generation Cost: $1 billion Completed: 1970 Height: 111 m Reservoir Area: 6000 km2 Volume: 169 bcm Power Capacity: 21,000 MW Dam Overview

26. Benefits of Aswan Dam

27. Benefits of the Aswan Reservoir • Flood and drought control • Increase in agriculture • Increase in electrical power • Increase in Egypt’s national income Photo credit: J. Sieracki

28. The Aswan High Dam Project in Egypt, which was completed in 1970. The dam is built on the River Nile and provides: • Hydro-Electric Power (HEP) • Irrigation water for surrounding farmland • Water supply to the population • Flood control. • i.e. A MULTIPURPOSE SCHEME

29. Helping Egypt to develop: The formation of the Lake Nasser reservoir creates HEP opportunities and controls flooding. This helps Egypt to develop in two ways. Firstly it provides the electricity needed for people and industry to increase their quality of life and to stop the flooding which ruins so many livelihoods and claims lives.

30. Hydro-electricity for Egypt, • In the 1980's this dam was providing half of Egypt's Electricity, but by the 1990's this had fallen as energy demands increased. • The electric power capacity of the Aswan High Dam is: 2.1 gigawatts (GW). • It consists of 12 Hydro-Generators each rated at 175 MW. • Egypt currently has a total installed generating capacity of 16.6 gigawatts (GW) compared to 3.8 GW in 1976, thus the percentage contribution by the High dam has decreased from over half the total electricity generation to less than 13%. • This percentage will continue to decrease as more thermal power plants are added. Total capacity expected to be 26 GW by 2010.

31. Electricity for homes and industry: HEP is used to generate electricity that is taken to homes and industries by pylons. Aluminium and copper smelting industry

32. Flood control: Control of flooding is carried out by the dam. By keeping so much water back in Lake Nasser, the River Nile rarely floods the surrounding farmland any more.

33. New farmland created: The act of keeping back the water from the River Nile has lowered its level, effectively creating new farmland by the river sides. This is also less prone to flooding.

34. Irrigation water for nearby farmland: Development of irrigation channels from Lake Nasser, takes water from the reservoir to the nearby desert to make farmland for watering crops. The electricity pumps the water there.

35. Irrigated Farmland in Egypt

36. Fish stocks in Lake Nasser: Fish live in the lake and can be fished more easily by those fishermen who used to fish in the River Nile. This should improve their livelihoods and fish stocks can be replaced more easily. Also creates tourism via ‘game fishing’.

37. A Panoramic View & Lake Nasser

38. Lake Nasser • The Aswan High Dam, when it was build created Lake Nasser, Lake Nasser stretches back 270 kilometres from the Dam. • The Lake has also created a lot more land for people to farm on. • This is because a lot of water is stored in the lake, and in turn this water can be used to irrigate land around the lake. • Lake Nasser has also created a big fishing industry, which produces 25,000 tons of fish a year, the fishing industry is aiming to produce 100,000 tons by the year 2000.

39. Benefits of the Dam • Supplys about one-third to one-half of Egypt’s electrical power. • Stores and releases water for irrigation. • Increases food production by allowing year-round irrigation of nearly 8.2 million acres of land. • Provides flood control for the lower Nile basin. • Makes Nile more navigable

40. Irrigated Agriculture in Basin: • Irrigation dominates agriculture in climatically dry • Egypt and northern Sudan. • Egypt has begun Northern Sinai irrigation project that • includes Salaam Canal under Suez Canal and eventually • will use additional 4.4 billion cubic meters of water. • When completed in 2017, New Valley Project will divert • another 5 billion cubic meters of water annually. • Sudan now irrigates only about 1 percent of arable land. • Ethiopia has about half million acres under irrigation. • Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have plans to develop • about 1 million acres. • Huge new irrigation projects in Egypt and Sudan pose • threat to upstream riparians

41. Hydropower in Basin: • Numerous dams for hydro-power in • basin;best known is Aswan dam in • Egypt. • Sudan is moving ahead with new • dams at 3rd and 4th cataracts of Nile. • Ethiopia constructing new dam on • Tekeze River. I I. The Nubian Nile II. The Nile Basin south of Khartoum III. Ethiopia and the Blue Nile II • Ethiopia plans to double hydroelectric • production. • Uganda constructing another dam • near Lake Victoria. • Dams only for hydropower are not • serious threat to downstream use of water. III

42. Jonglei Canal: • Controversial canal known as Jonglei in southern Sudan to move substantial amount of White Nile water around world’s largest freshwater swamp—Sudd. • 224-mile long Jonglei Canal would make available almost 5 billion cubic meters of water, divided about equally between Sudan and Egypt. • Excavation of Jonglei reached mile 166 in 1984 when the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) attacked project and stopped it. • Will not be possible to restart project without consent of southern Sudanese.

43. Countries with significant hydroelectric power potential could sell power to Sudan and Egypt. • Upstream dams can trap sediment. • Evaporation at Lake Nasser is about 12 percent. • It is only about 3 percent in Ethiopian highlands; water for Sudan and Egypt can be stored more effectively in Ethiopia. • These measures will reduce potential for conflict. • Nile basin is huge opportunity for international community to engage in conflict prevention.

44. Disadvantages of the Aswan Dam

46. Costs of Aswan Reservoir • Increased seismic activity • Disruption of Mediterranean flow circulation • Increase of water-born diseases • Drowning of archaeological sites • Displacement of Nubian peoples Photo credit: J. Sieracki

47. Costs of the Aswan Reservoir • Water loss • Salinization and waterlogging • Scouring of downstream sections • Loss of nutrients • Erosion of the Nile Delta • Reduced fish catches in the delta Photo credit: ask.com

48. Problems with the Dam • Decreased the fertility of the soil • The Nile no longer deposits its rich silt (sediment) on the farmland, so farmers have to purchase expensive artificial fertilizer • Year round irrigation has resulted in a water table in Egypt • Floodwaters used to flush out the salt, but now expensive field drains have to be installed

49. Problems with the Dam • Rates of malaria and other diseases have increased due to greater numbers of mosquitos • Egyptians lose millions of gallons of fresh water due to evaporation because Lake Nasser holds the floodwaters

50. Disadvantages of the Dam • Ended the yearly flooding that provided the lower Nile basin with nutrient rich silt. • Today, Egypt relies on commercial fertilizers to provide crops with nutrients. • Eliminates 94% of Nile water that once reached the Mediterranean Sea each year. • As a result, the ecology of the water is upset near the mouth of the Nile. • With less water going downstream from the dam, saltwater from the Mediterranean has crept slowly inland. • The salt water mixes with the fresh Nile water and becomes irrigation water. The resulting salinity offsets crop yields.