The seventh annual gathering of Cairo Water Week (CWW) was held last week under the theme “Water and Climate: Building Resilient Societies”. This coincided with Egypt being the current chair of the African Ministerial Council on Water (AMCAW) as it hosts African Water Week.

CWW brought together high-level officials, experts, and representatives from over 30 regional and international organisations, with more than 155 sessions and a major exhibition showcasing innovations in water management.

Egypt’s water problems featured prominently during the gathering. According to Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilam, Egyptians receive 55 million cubic metres from the River Nile, representing only 50 per cent of Egypt’s water needs.

To compensate for the shortage, Egypt is setting up three large water treatment plants to recycle water. This will boost the amount of treated water that Egypt is using from 21 billion cubic metres to 26 billion in the next two years, he said.

Sweilam said Egypt imports water in the form of food which is called virtual water. It imports food commodities worth 34 billion cubic metres of virtual water, Sweilam said. This does not happen in some African countries because of plentiful rainfall, he added.

He said Egypt collaborates with Nile Basin countries to enable them to make the most of this water, he added.

Sweilam said Egypt funded and implemented 400 projects in Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, and Rwanda. Moreover, he said, Egypt just completed a forecast centre in South Sudan and in the Congo so they can protect themselves from floods and make the best use of them.

In addition, Egypt is building dams and other constructions on the waterway in the Nile Basin countries, but according to international water laws. According to Sweilam, Egyptian companies are building the Jonios Narrative Dam in Tanzania. “We are not against neither dams nor the development of countries,” Sweilam said, demanding that international law be taken into account in the construction of huge projects like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam “especially since there is no water scarcity in the Nile Basin.”

He said 1,600 billion cubic metres of water flow in the River Nile but that only three per cent out of that amount flows to Egypt. He said that even though there are hundreds of dams in Ethiopia, “Egypt was never against any of them except when it comes to this oversized and unjustifiable one on the Blue Nile.

“It is preventing 60 per cent of the three per cent that we are drinking and using. At least we have to express our concerns,” Sweilam said.

Sweilam’s speech came while honouring 24 African trainees who participated in a training course held at the headquarters of the regional training centre affiliated to the Hydraulics Research Institute called “Sustainable Solutions to Meet Challenges and Secure the Future of Water”. He spoke with the trainees about the importance of cooperation with Nile Basin countries as the best way to a bright future for Africa.

On the local level, Sweilam asked Egyptians to rationalise water consumption.

Ala Al-Qad, a national campaign, was officially launched on the last day of CWW. The initiative represents a correction to the public attitude towards water consumption and pollution. Sweilam said the initiative is a call to the people to play their role in saving water since the fast increase in population is not matching the hike in Egypt’s share of water.

There is no future crisis, according to Sweilam, but there is a need to cut individual consumption by 30 per cent. The campaign targets all Egyptians, especially farmers, as 70 per cent of drinking water goes to agriculture.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 24 October, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly