Problems
Causes of pollution of the Nile River in Egypt
Every aspect of life in Egypt depends on the river – the Nile provides food and resources, land for agriculture, a means of travel, and was critical in the transportation of materials for building projects and other large-scale endeavors. It is a critical lifeline that literally brought life to the desert. Most of Egypt depends on the Nile as its source of water. Despite its importance, the Nile is heavily polluted in Egypt. Causes of pollution of the Nile River in Egypt: ● River is being continuously contaminated with overwhelming amounts of items such as discharge, toxic chemicals, fertilizer residue, radioactive waste and oil pollution is truly horrific and dangerously deadly. ● Large cause of pollution in the water of Egypt can relate to certain Egyptian traditions. These customs include ridding their waste by casting it into the river while bathing and cleaning their animals in this same river water. ● Construction of the Aswan Dam. Before Aswan dam construction there was a natural balance. Every Nile flood would deposit silt bulking up the promontories at Damietta and Rosetta. But this balance has been disturbed by the dam. Pollution of the Nile River in Egypt has implications for biodiversity, especially fisheries, and human health.
Health effects of Nile river pollution in Egypt
Customs ridding their waste by casting it into the river while bathing and cleaning their animals in this same river water lead to mass breakouts of diseases, such as schistosomes.
Solutions
Cleaning Boat
Author: VeryNile
VeryNile launched cleaning boat in Africa. The boat has a capacity to collect 500kg of solid waste per week. The waste is collected through the front basket and segregated on the boat. The boat is operating 5 days per week around the Island of Qursaya.
Source: https://www.ecohubmap.com/company/business/verynile-hq-entrance-point/11yxis0ml7t7aj32
Gallery
3
Timelines
2022
In January, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared that his beloved nation “has reached a stage of water poverty.” “Water poverty, as defined by the World Bank, is when a country’s renewable internal freshwater resources per capita are less than 1,000 cubic meters annually.” This is the bare minimum to successfully meet the people’s needs for water and food. It has not been since 1991 that Egypt reported living with less than the minimum water share.
2021
In August, the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation revealed a four-step plan, which could assist in reducing the water crisis. The four-pronged strategy extends until 2050, with promises made to solve all water-related problems and effects of water pollution in Egypt.
2017
Former Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy asserted that pollution in the Nile is still below danger levels in line with international standards, despite there being pollution spots and factories that discharge wastewater into the river.
2009
The sea ate three kilometers into the Nile Delta between 1968, with the river’s weaker flow unable to hold back the Mediterranean, which rose some 15 centimeters over the last century due to climate change. The silt that for millennia formed a barrier to protect the land no longer makes it to the sea.
1993
Lead and cadmium were detected in finished drinking water of four treatment plants in greater Cairo with levels of 29.6µg l −1 for lead and 4.15µg l −1 for cadmium, yet another one found the concentrations 14 and 24 times greater.
1970
Aswan Dam was built.