Egypt updates its national water resources plan: Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam has set directives for the development of Egypt’s National Water Resources Plan (pdf) to expand its scope to 2050, according to a statement. The update, under implementation of the Egyptian-Dutch Joint Cooperation Program in Applied Research (JCAR), will focus on wastewater treatment and reuse, desalination, and incorporate current national projects.

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What else are they doing? The update to the national strategy will also include addressing Egypt’s water balance and calibrating the models used in water resource management, including the River Basin Simulation Model (RIBASIM) and the Agricultural Sector Model of Egypt (ASME). These models help optimize crop patterns from economic and social aspects and analyze water resources and usage across different regions.

The strategy in brief: Egypt’s 2050 water resources plan aims to achieve water security via sustainable management of water resources. The strategy’s has four main pillars to achieve this goals:

  • Developing traditional or non-traditional water resources;
  • Rationalizing water use and increasing returns from high-consumption sectors including agriculture, industries, and drinking water;
  • Improving water quality by combating water resource pollution;
  • Preparing the appropriate environment for integrated water resources management.

How they’ll do it: Egypt plans on partnering with Nile countries to maintain its supply of water from the river, and plans to boost groundwater usage and development through renewable energy sources with a focus on solar energy. There are also plans to collect and use rain and flood water, treat and reuse wastewater from the agricultural sector, and expand its desalination efforts.

REMEMBER- Egypt needs over 114 bcm of water annually to achieve full self-sufficiency, but only 60 bcm is available each year, according to officials. This has pushed Egypt to resort to alternatives despite hefty price tags, including the EGP 18 bn Bahr El Baqar wastewater treatment facility. Egypt’s USD 50 bn water plan could even grow to cost EGP 1 tn by 2037, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi previously said.

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