Lack of water in the Egyptian cities (3)

Thousands of years before the Pan-African Highway aimed to connect Egypt to the rest of the continent, the Nile was a busy thoroughfare that helped build the pharaohs’ glorious cities. An endless procession of barges carried valuable limestone hundreds of miles from quarries as far south as Aswan and beyond, giving birth to the great pyramids at Giza and the temples of Memphis and Thebes.

Today, the river’s dwindling fortunes are having the reverse impact on modern Egypt’s struggling cities. Dropping water levels are creating shortages for both residential and industrial customers, fueling economic losses and social strife. As impoverished rural residents abandon their desiccated lands for the promise of jobs and services in the city, they’re putting even more strain on already overextended urban water systems.

“Migration to the city is the fastest solution for the new generation in the countryside, especially with the collapse of the agricultural profession because of water scarcity,” said Mohamed Mohieldin, a specialist in water issues at Menoufia University north of Cairo. “Massive migration to the cities without planning is the main reason for overloading the main services like water and power, which causes bottlenecks in [both] slums and middle-class districts.”

Shahira Hussein, a mother of two who lives in an apartment about 6 miles from downtown Cairo, can attest to the daily struggles as water shortages reach crisis levels. “The problem started two years ago,” Hussein recalled in an interview with Al-Monitor. “We were surprised by water cut for three consecutive months."

Since then, she said, water has only been available for about three hours a day, even though she pays about $100 per month for the service.

“During the few hours when the water reaches the tap, I try to store as much as possible for my family's needs, but it is such an onerous task,” she said. “I have had to leave home many times and stay with my relatives when the water totally cut, especially during summer. Living without water is impossible, especially with children.”

And the quality of the water that is reaching households is only getting worse, as dropping water levels contribute to higher concentrations of agricultural and industrial waste and other forms of pollution. “Water also is unclean and unfit for drinking or using in food preparation,” Hussein noted. “We depend on bottled water, which adds financial burdens on my family.”

The Egyptian blames unconstrained population growth and illegal construction for the service disruptions. With districts in Cairo and Giza experiencing repeated water cuts, local authorities have raised prices and adopted restrictive measures, including fines of up to 500 Egyptian pounds ($30) for people who waste water by leaving garden hoses open, washing their cars in excess or spraying water in front of their shops to get rid of dust. Residents have answered with their own makeshift solutions, including using pumps to capture underground water or building water tanks on the roofs of buildings. 

“History shows that Egyptians are good at circumventing the law,” Mohieldin said. “Failing to deter wasteful water practices … will complicate the crisis.”

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/05/dry-nile-river-egypt.html#ixzz5omZczzst