VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #2839/01 2621502
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191502Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6957
INFO RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 1148
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0306
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0084
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0341
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 0151
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 0043
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0066
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0001
RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA 0137
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 1781

UNCLAS CAIRO 002839 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAID EAGR ECON PGOV SOCI EG
SUBJECT:  Thirst on the Nile 
 
Ref:  Cairo 1877 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please handle according. 
 
¶1.  (U)  SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION:  Although significant progress 
has been made in improving infrastructure for potable water and 
sanitation, including $3.3 billion in USAID assistance since 1977, 
poor maintenance due to poor management practices, combined with 
population pressures, mean that many Egyptians in rural areas do not 
have full-time access to running, potable water.  Irrigation water 
is also a problem, due to crumbling infrastructure, inadequate or 
non-existent tariffs, and increasing demand.  Egypt's share of Nile 
waters, set in a 1959 treaty with Sudan at 55.5 billion cubic meters 
(m3), is no longer adequate for current usage patterns and 
population growth.  In response to recent protests and media 
criticism, the GOE plans more spending on maintenance and 
construction, and a reorganization of agencies response for 
infrastructure and water services, but lacks a long-term plan to 
rationalize water consumption.  END SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION. 
 
¶3.  (U) For Egyptians growing up within sight of the Nile, and who 
consider water a free good, the ideas of increased tariffs and water 
conservation are difficult to accept.  The days of unlimited water 
are gone, however. In 2005, the average per capita share of water 
available in Egypt (including irrigation) was 770 cubic meters (m3) 
per year. The UN considers a country to be in a situation of "water 
scarcity" when its population has access to less than 1000 m3.  In 
comparison, gross per capita water consumption in the U.S. is 10,000 
m3 per year, and in Europe, 2000 to 3000 m3.  By 2020, the UN 
projects that per capita share of water in Egypt is expected to drop 
even lower - to 590 m3. 
 
¶4. (U) Over the summer, emboldened by successful strikes at textile 
factories, villagers throughout Egypt have held highly publicized 
demonstrations about water shortages.  Villagers in Daqahliyah 
governorate protested a lack of access to drinking water in August, 
claiming drinking water was channeled to the Gamasah beach resort, 
which primarily serves wealthy Cairenes.  Daqahliyah Governor 
General Ahmed Abdin responded that water in the governorate has been 
rationed to villages since 2001, and that Gamasah receives 30,000 
cubic meters per day, similar to the rations received by other 
villages in the governorate. 
 
¶5. (U) Residents of other Delta governorates and some Upper Egyptian 
governorates have also been protesting irrigation water shortages, 
including in Sharkiya and Beni Suef.  In August, emboffs visited 
villages in Daqaliya and Sharkiya governorates.  Villagers said 
irrigation water does not meet the needs of local farmers, who are 
forced to use drainage water to irrigate fields.  The high salinity 
of the drainage water limits the crops farmers can grow; one of the 
few crops farmers can grow under the circumstances is rice.  The 
villagers told emboffs that if they had clean irrigation water, they 
could grow more profitable crops such as vegetables, corn and 
cotton.  Villagers also complained that local officials from the 
Ministry of Irrigation have been unable to address their complaints. 
 
 
¶6.  (U)  In a recent interview, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said 250 
villages lack access to drinking water, and many others have either 
an insufficient or irregular supply.  Water plants in Egypt, he 
said, purify 20 million cubic meters (mm3) of water daily. 
Estimating that about one-third of that is "lost," about 14 mm3, or 
about 200 liters per capita per day, remain.   The GOE has a regular 
annual budget of LE 2 billion ($350m) for new construction of water 
and wastewater facilities.  In 2006, another LE 20 billion ($3.5b) 
was allocated for new construction in rural over a five year period. 
 The GOE has also allocated LE 1 ($175m) billion to maintain, 
upgrade and expand water infrastructure, in response to recent media 
criticism. 
 
¶7. (U)  Eighty-five percent of water consumed in Egypt is used for 
irrigation, and controlled by the Ministry of Water Resources and 
Irrigation (MWRI).  This ministry has the lead on international 
water issues, as well as the timing and flow of water through the 
Nile below the Aswan High Dam.  Irrigation water flows mainly 
through canals that draw water from the Nile.  Some farmers complain 
that farmers close to the Nile, or those with political connections, 
take more than their share and do not leave enough for other 
farmers.  Moreover, canal water is controlled by poorly paid local 
representatives of the Ministry of Irrigation.  Farmers in the Delta 
told emboffs that they sometimes have to pay bribes to get water. 
To address this problem, USAID is supporting the formation of Branch 
Canal Water Users Associations (BCWUAs).  These groups develop their 
own distribution schedule for the canals and sub-canals to better 
manage available resources and make the system more equitable. 
 
¶8. (U)  More significantly, Egyptian farmers, and small farmers in 
particular, continue to use flood irrigation, rather than 
modern/water-saving techniques such as drip or sprinkler irrigation. 
 Although the GOE has begun charging commercial farmers for water in 
some new farming areas, most irrigation water is free.  This removes 
any financial incentive to invest in new technology, or to conserve 
water.  Moreover, a lack of financing means small farmers cannot 
invest in equipment, seeds, training etc. to convert to other crops. 
 Even where drip irrigation is installed, farmers are often 
unwilling and/or unable to maintain it.  To keep a drip irrigation 
system running, lines must be checked daily. Flood irrigation, used 
in Egypt for millennia, is easier and cheaper. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR) 
issues guidelines to farmers on rice and sugar cane cultivation, in 
an effort to rationalize water use.  These guidelines are widely 
ignored.  Rice, a water-intensive crop, is reportedly grown on 
two-three times the area allocated by MALR.  Fines for exceeding 
 
space targets are seldom enforced.  Another popular crop is sugar 
cane, which requires little if any tending during the growing season 
but is also water intensive.  Commenting on Egypt's 1 million metric 
tons of annual rice exports, Parliamentarian Sherif Omar told emboff 
that "exporting rice is like exporting water." 
 
¶10. (U) The potable water and waste management system, managed by 
the Ministry of Housing, is also under heavy pressure.  Inadequate 
tariffs, low collection rates, and poor management have resulted in 
clearly inadequate services.  As noted in para 6, the GOE plans to 
increase spending on infrastructure.  Water shortages also affect 
industry.  Many textile companies, for example, which require an 
uninterrupted supply of clean water, have built their own water 
treatment plants on site.  The companies draw water directly from 
the canals, and purify it themselves.  This ensures an adequate 
supply, but requires additional investment pushing up their 
production costs. 
 
---------------------- 
Addressing the problem 
---------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) Management challenges are exacerbated by the Balkanization 
of responsibility for water.  The Ministry of Irrigation controls 
international negotiations and most water used within Egypt, while 
the Ministry of Agriculture controls farm policy, including crop 
guidelines.  Within the Ministry of Housing, there are separate 
agencies for construction, and operations and maintenance.  Finally, 
tariff rates are set by the Prime Minister directly. Although 
ministry representatives sit on each other's boards, interagency 
coordination is difficult and ineffective. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Minister of Housing Ahmed Magrabi recently told an AmCham 
audience that the situation in the Delta is unacceptable.  At his 
request, USAID will assist in managing the GOE's ambitious 
investment plan. Other changes include reforms to the administrative 
structure of the Ministry of Housing's water authorities, and 
creation of creating regional public companies responsible for 
construction, maintenance and supply of drinking water.  Water 
issues must be addressed together with housing; service to existing 
neighborhoods is only part of the picture as the GOE must also cope 
with vast new "illegal" developments.  The GOE is trying to 
rationalize ground water use for non-economic uses, such as golf 
courses, fountains and car washes.  According to press reports, the 
guidelines are not always followed, including in the new expensive 
housing and commercial developments around Cairo, featuring golf 
courses, pools and lawns.  It is not clear to what extent Magrabi is 
tackling these longer-term zoning and development issues. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Minister for Irrigation Mahmoud Abou Zeid, a competent 
career bureaucrat, has put together a plan for water usage through 
2017, based on integrated resource management.  He faces 
considerable challenges in getting farmers to shift to less-water 
intensive crops, and to drip irrigation.  Under current policies, 
however, it is clear that savings achieved by Agriculture or in the 
potable water system are intended to support continued expansion of 
agriculture, into the Sinai for example, rather than to reduce 
pressure on Nile resources.  Prime Minister Nazif recently announced 
the GOE would conduct a review of agricultural policy, but did not 
specify if the review would address irrigation issues.  Egypt's 
water problems are likely to continue unless and until the 
government takes a comprehensive look at how to use Egypt's water 
resources more efficiently. 
Ricciardone