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

Importance of the Nile River

Water Management in River Nile

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

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.

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.

•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.

Nile Flow

Egypt Land and Population Data

Total land area: 1,001,450 sq km

Arable land: 2%

Irrigated land: 32,460 sq km (1993 est.)

Population: 69,536,644

Population Growth Rate: 1.69% (2001 est.)

Birth Rate: 24.89 births/1,000 (2001)

Death Rate: 7.7 deaths/1,000 (2001)  

 

Water Shortage Issues with Nile

Experts have warned that if populations rise as expected in Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, the three countries most dependent on the Nile, competition will escalate into Africa’s first war for water.

Egypt's section of the Nile is now clearly marked at 5 km intervals with flags warning of fines for horseplay in the water, including 'bombing'.

Cairo, a large city reduced in this sentence to a swarthy diplomat in a white suit, has warned it will use 'necessary force' to defend access to the 7,000 km long river, which with its tributaries running through ten countries.

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.

Water Scarcity Issue

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.   

•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.

Countries Dependent on Nile

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 902Sudan 6,400 -1.8 10 57Ethiopia 9,000 4.8 15 22Uganda 2.300 3.5 6 NACongo 1,600 0.1 0 45Kenya 2,800 -1.9 10 121Tanzania 4,000 1.0 9 58Rwanda 300 10.2 6 NABurundi 300 1.0 6 NAEritrea 100 -3.4 8 NA

Africa 129,500 0.8 NA

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.

Legal Issues Over Nile

Reasons for Aswan Dam

Facts on Aswan Dam

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

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.

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.

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?

 One of the Hydroelectric Generators

located at Aswan High Dam.

Aswan High Dam holding back Lake Nasser on left, Aswan, Egypt

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.

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.

Dam Overview

• 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

Benefits of Aswan Dam

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Irrigated Farmland in Egypt

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’.

A Panoramic View & Lake Nasser

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.

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

Irrigated Agriculture in Basin:

•Irrigation dominates agriculture in climatically dry Egypt and northern Sudan.

•Egypt has begun Northern Sinai irrigation project thatincludes 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

Hydropower in Basin:•Numerous dams for hydro-power in basin;best known is Aswan dam inEgypt.

•Sudan is moving ahead with new dams at 3rd and 4th cataracts of Nile.

•Ethiopia constructing new dam on Tekeze River.

•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.

I. The Nubian NileII. The Nile Basin south of KhartoumIII. Ethiopia and the Blue Nile

I

II

III

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.

•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.

Disadvantages of the Aswan Dam

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

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

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

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

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.

Resettlement of People• Lake Nasser flooded much of lower Nubia and 100,000 to

120,000 people were resettled in Sudan and Egypt.• The majority of the 90,000 Nubians resettled in Egypt

were resettled three to ten kilometers from the Nile near Kom Ombo 45 kilometers downstream from Aswan in what was called " New Nubia".

• Housing and facilities were built for 47 village units whose relationship to each other approximated that in Old Nubia.

• Irrigated land was provided to grow mainly sugar cane.

Harmful Results

• Loss due to evaporation/seepage 11-15%• Sediment against dam not in fields• Shrimp industry damaged• Increase use of Fertilizers (now over 1mil

tons/yr)• Downstream shrinkage• Increased salinity• Damage monuments• Schistosomiasis and other diseases increase• High dam still floods• Political problems

High set-up costs of building the dam:

Egypt had to borrow a great deal of money to set this dam up from the Russians. Egypt will be repaying the loans back for a very long time and so it is doubtful whether this will help Egypt to develop at all

Waterlogging and Increase in Soil Salinity• Before the construction of the High Dam, groundwater levels in the

Nile Valley fluctuated 8-9m per year with the water level of the Nile.

• During summer when evaporation was highest, the groundwater level was too deep to allow salts dissolved in the water to be pulled to the surface through capillary action.

• With heavy year-round irrigation, groundwater levels remained high with little fluctuation leading to waterlogging.

• Soil salinity also increased because the distance between the surface and the groundwater table was small enough (1–2 m depending on soil conditions and temperature) to allow water to be pulled up by evaporation so that the relatively small concentrations of salt in the groundwater accumulated on the soil surface over the years.

Irrigated farmland suffers from salination:

When water evaporates in these hot areas, it brings salts to the soil surface. This is called salinisation and it is not good for the soils or the crops. If too much salt rises to the surface, it can kill the plants and reduce yields.

Losses due to Salinization • Since most of the farmland did not have proper

subsurface drainage to lower the groundwater table, salinization gradually affected crop yields.

• A total of 2.1 million hectares thus required subsurface drainage at a cost that exceeded the construction cost of the High Dam.

• Only 20 years after completion of the High Dam the problem was seriously addressed and a large-scale drainage program was initiated.

Waterlogging and Salinization

• Aswan Reservoir has reached max capacity

• Water has overflown into Western Desert

• Government has two plans for excess water:– Water can be injected

back into Nubian Aquifer

– Water can be dispersed for agriculture

Kim and Sultan 2002

Waterlogging and Salinization

• Results (for 2020 and 2050):– Increase in waterlogging– Increase in flooding– Increase in salinization– Change in water table will complicate the

distribution of groundwater

Fishery in the Delta and the Mediterranean

• Mediterranean fishing and brackish water lake fishery declined after the dam was finished because nutrients that used to flow down the Nile to the Mediterranean were trapped behind the dam.

• For example, the Sardine catch off the Egyptian coast declined from 18,000 tons in 1962 to a mere 460 tons in 1968, but then gradually recovered to 8,590 tons in 1992.

• A scientific article in the mid-1990s noted that " the mismatch between low primary productivity and relatively high levels of fish production in the region still presents a puzzle to scientist.“

• The Aswan Dam tends to increase the salinity of the Mediterranean Sea, and this affects the Mediterranean's outflow current into the Atlantic Ocean.

• This current can be traced thousands of kilometers into the Atlantic.

Desalinization• Desalinization is the removal of salt from

ocean water • This is done at technically sophisticated water

treatment plants • Water may be too salty to use for irrigation so

it is used in sewage systems• Very expensive and cannot provide adequate

quantities of water to meet all the needs of people in the Middle East

Water Pollution: Aswan High Dam and its Effect

• Majority of Egypt’s water is from the Nile River• The Aswan High Dam has reduced the flow of the Nile which causes the

trapping of nutrient-rich silt. This silt trapped by the damn once fertilized the country’s farmland. – In order to make up for the loss of the nutrient-rich silt, agricultures increase the utilization

of chemical fertilizers, adding to water pollution– Also employ modern herbicides and pesticides to increase crop production, which also

add to the pollution

• With the Aswan High Dam reducing the flow of the Nile River, the concentration of pollutants in the remaining Nile River increases.

61

Algae Growth• Because of the lower turbidity of the water

sunlight penetrates deeper in the Nile water.

• Because of this and the increased presence of nutrients from fertilizers in the water, more algae grow in the Nile.

• This in turn increases the costs of drinking water treatment.

• Apparently few experts had anticipated that water quality in the Nile would actually decrease because of the High Dam.

Sedimentation

• Turbid waters from the Ethiopian Plain no longer reach the dam

Latif 1984

Lack of Fertile Soil• Unfortunately this dam has caused a big change to the lives

of farmers downstream from the dam. • Usually when the river flooded once a year before the dam

was built. • It deposited fertile soil from upstream on its banks

downstream. • This washed up soil was extremely fertile, and renewed itself

every year at in flood season.• But now, since the dam was built the annual flood has been

stopped.• Causing all the farmers downstream to have to use fertilizers

to grow their crops, which makes it more expensive.

The river used to deposit 120 million tonnes of silt onto the delta each year.

Now it is only 50 million tonnes because the rest is trapped at the Aswan Dam.

Sedimentation

• Problems created by sedimentation:– Lake infilling– Erosion downstream of dam– Deepening of the Nile delta– Loss of nutrients to farm lands– Loss of nutrients to the delta estuary

Photo credit: NASA.gov

So now the delta is being eroded by the sea at up to 30 metres a year.

And with Global Warming causing sea level to rise the delta is even more at risk.

Sedimentation in Reservoir

• Majority of sediment inflow trapped in tail end of reservoir

• Dead storage capacity of 31.6 bcm for 500 years

• Feasibility study being conducted for uses of sediments

• Lack of sediments downstream means farmers use 13,000 tons of fertilizer

Reservoir Rvaporation; Aquatic weeds; Pollution from fertilizers

• Evaporation from Lake Nasser is estimated at 10 km3 per year, varying mainly as a function of the lake area.

• While the absolute amount of water lost to evaporation is enormous, it is only 11% of the average volume stored in the Lake and 18% of Egypt's share of the annual flow of the Nile.

• Before the dam was built, the 50,000 km of irrigation and drainage canals in Egypt had to be dredged regularly to remove sediments.

• After construction of the dam, aquatic weeds grew much faster in the clearer water, helped by fertilizer residues.

• The total length of the infested waterways was about 27,000 km in the mid-90s. • Weeds have been gradually brought under control by manual, mechanical and

biological methods.• The increased use of artificial fertilizers has caused chemical pollution which the

traditional river sediment did not do.

Water-borne diseases increase:

As the water in both the reservoir and irrigation channels is contained and in a lot of places static, this promotes the build up of water snails which carry the disease bilharzia. Many other diseases also increase as they are not 'flushed away' by the flow of the River Nile.

Health Impact• The standing water in irrigation canals is a breeding

ground for snails carrying the parasite bilharzia.• The incidence of bilharzia increased due to the Aswan

High Dam inhibiting the natural fluctuations in water height. Important factors contributing to the prevalence of schistosomiasis were poor sanitation and limited awareness of how the disease was transmitted.

• Provision of clean water, sanitation, health education and rural clinics has reduced the overall prevalences of schistosomiasis from more than 40 per cent during the pre-dam period to 10 per cent in 1995 and only 2% in 2002.

Malaria

• single-celled protozoa Plasmodium

• transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes

• causes 1 million deaths per year

• fever-like symptoms• high resistance to

drugs

Schistosomiasis (Biharzia)

• Schistosoma fluke• carried by snails• transmitted through water

– Fishermen, farmers especially at risk

• severe damage to urinary tract, abdomen, spleen, liver

• enters water via urine and feces - Sanitation!!

WHO/TDR

WHO/TDR/Stammers

Schistosomiasis

WHO/TDR/Don-Arthur WHO/TDR/Crump

Land lost from flooding of Lake Nasser:

Although there were some land gains from the building of the dam, there were much more losses behind the dam where the land was flooded to make the reservoir of Lake Nasser. Many people were moved and made homeless as well as losing their farmland.

The temples of Abu Simnel had to be moved.

Loss of Soil for Agricultural Land

• The Aswan High Dam, causes the year-round irrigation of the little available soil to accumulate with salt.

• The water seized behind the Dam causes this, it leads to the loss of some agricultural land.

• Another cause of agricultural land loss is the effect of urbanization from the large populations.

• Only 4% of land is suitable for agriculture. • Soil fertility has continued to decline due to over

cultivation. 77

Moving Historical Sites

• Archeology– Twin temples of Pharoah Ramses II relocated by

UNESCO

UNESCO Courier, Dec. 1964.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

This is the temple of King Rameses at Abu ⅡSimbel. It is about 3000 years old.Four large stone figures on the outside.

20m

It was clear that when the dam was finished many of them would be covered by water.One of the most important of these temples is Abu Simbel, which as built in the 13th century BC. It was made of rock and at the entrance there are four large stone persons, each twenty metres high.

Moving Historical Sites

Why did Abu Simbel need to be moved and rebuilt?

Abu Simbel needed to be moved and rebuilt because otherwise it would have been covered by the water when the dam was completed.

Moving Historical Sites

Nobody wanted the beautiful temple

of Abu Simbel to disappear but

they needed the dam. Finally, the

engineers of UNESCO studied the

problem and found a way to rescue

the temple.

Moving Historical Sites

How did the engineers solve the problem? Was it successful? How do you know?

They solved this problem by moving the statues. They marked every stone with a number and took the statues apart. Then they resemble them in another site.It was very successful because manytourists com to visit Abu Simbel which looks as impressive as it did in its original site.

Moving Historical Sites

The engineers agreed to move Abu

Simbel temple stone by stone and build

it again above the waters of the dam.

It took 1900 workers four years to

rebuild the temple in the 1960s.

It cost more than seventy million US

dollars.

Moving Historical Sites

Moving Historical Sites

Length of time

Cost of moneyPeople of taking part in

Altogether 4 years

$1 billion

1900 people

UNIT7

Abu Simbel

move them to a new place (stone by stone)

Now it’s near the Lake Nasser. Where did

it move to?

However, it was worth it.

The Aswan High Dam was finished in 1966.

Even since then Abu Simbel has been one of

the most beautiful temples in Egypt.

It is still in a quiet and beautiful place which

visitors are glad to visit.

Moving Historical Sites

UNIT7

Situation Problem Solution

The Aswan Dam

The Three Gorges Dam

Temples and relics might be destroyed

Residential areas and cultural relics will be flooded. (Water will cover areas where people live and may destroy cultural relics)

Build new houses in other places , and move the people and the cultural relics to a safe place.

Fill in the chart.

Move the temple and relics to a safe place.

Evaporation from Lake Nasser is very high:

This is an extremely hot area of the world. Evaporation from Lake Nasser is very high as a consequence and this means a lot of water is lost.

Reservoir Sedimentation• Reservoir sedimentation. Sediment deposited in the reservoir is lowering the

water storage capacity of Lake Nasser.• The reservoir storage capacity is 162 km3, including 31 km3 dead storage at

the bottom of the lake below 147m above sea level, 90 km3 live storage, and 41 km3 of storage for high flood waters above 175m above sea level.

• The annual sediment load of the Nile is about 134 million tons. • This means that the dead storage volume would be filled up after 300–500

years if the sediment accumulated at the same rate throughout the area of the lake.

• Obviously sediment accumulates much faster at the upper reaches of the Lake where sedimentation has already affected the live storage zone.

• It would take about another 900 years until the live storage zone would be completely sedimented and operation of the dam would become impossible some time before that.

Silt builds up in Lake Nasser:• Silt, that would normally make its way down river gets trapped behind the

dam, lowering the level of the reservoir.• In addition, this silt would have made its way onto farmland and onto the

Nile Delta and this is now causing farmland to become less fertile and the Nile Delta to stop growing.

• Also, Cairo brick makers are suffering as they no longer have enough silt deposits to make their bricks from.

Mud brick village

Natural flooding / silt is lost:

Flooding is an important natural event which enables silt to be placed on farmland, making it more fertile.

Without this flooding, the farmland in front of the dam is becoming less fertile.

Yields of crops will drop and eventually people may lose money or starve.

In addition, those who do not have the luxury of an irrigation channel, will suffer from a lack of water entirely.

Coastal Erosion• The High Dam has accelerated erosion of coastlines (due to

lack of sediment, which was once brought by the Nile) in Egypt and, according to some sources even all along the eastern Mediterranean.

• Coastal erosion occurred and efforts to control it were made even before the construction of the High Dam.

• This erosion may to some extent have been caused by the limited trapping of sediments behind the Old Aswan Dam.

• The High Dam accelerated erosion and made the construction of further expensive coastal protection works in the Nile Delta necessary.

In the next 50 years, Egypt’s coastal zone, home to more than 40 percent of the population, stands to be severely damaged by

flooding,

groundwater salinity and erosion

resulting from rising sea levels associated with Global Warming.

Such a rise could potentially create as many as 14 million internally displaced persons

With about 40 percent of all Egyptian industry located within the delta area

A seawall defence to stop the Nile Delta being eroded by the sea.

Potential Future Problems

• In 1997, the Egyptian government began transferring more water for irrigation purposes.

• Egypt might soon find itself cut-off from their free water source. – 80% of Lake Nasser water comes from Ethiopia. – Ethiopia and Sudan are considering constructing

dams within their own countries.– Many people believe that Egypt would strike militarily

at Ethiopia rather than be deprived of any Nile water.

Lessons for the Future

• Developing countries in the tropics are considering similar projects

• Must understand problems associated with large dams

• Alternatives may

include programs in:– Population control– Rural development– Efficient ag

production

Photo credit: J. Sieracki

Points to Consider

• Groups:– Egyptians Farmers – General Egyptian Public– Egyptian Government– Sudanese and Ethiopians– Archeologists, Ecologists and Academicians

• Egyptian Farmers and General Public: – Want their homes to stop being flooded

annually and when the dam floods– Need silt to be applied to their fields to get a

large crop. The alternative is to use expensive, dangerous chemicals.

– Want food to be affordable

• Archeologists, Ecologists and Academicians– Worried about the loss of the natural

environment – The great loss of the historical artifacts at the

bottom of the lake and nearby areas• Salt increase is damaging other monuments

– Change in course of river• Environmental impacts

• Egyptian Government:– The dam stops the annual flooding of the Nile– Provides Egypt with much needed electricity

to become an industrialized nation– Worry about tourist dollars and the damage to

national monuments such as the Valley of the Kings and the Great Pyramids.

– Egyptian pride for the ability to control a natural force that has ruled the history of the nation.

Other Countries

• Want to be industrialized

• Environmental impacts effect them

• Envious of Egypt's prosperity

What should be done

• High dam currently exists– Downstream countries desire dams as well

• Can anyone own a river???– Who determines the use of a international

resource?

• Can one country tell another what they can or cannot do? – ex. environmental standards

Discussion

• Each group will argue their key points before the head of the United Nations.