Rationalising shortage
How to manage water so there's enough for everyone? Fatemah Farag searches for answers at the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources
"The public sector cannot provide all the necessary funds to finance water schemes -- estimated at the global level at some $180 billion for the next 10 years," Minister of Irrigation and Water Works Mahmoud Abu Zeid told the participants at last week's Current Development of the Toshka Project seminar held at the ministry.
As he spoke, the urgent need to develop more efficient water management schemes was making itself felt across the nation. Not only was this the time of year when the River Nile is at its lowest, reports of water scarcity had been on the rise, just as the water-intensive rice planting season begins. "We are releasing over 25 million cubic metres of water per day, which is much higher than the amounts released at the same time last year," Abu Zeid told reporters after the seminar. "However, the market price of rice is high this year, and there are fears that more people will be attempting to cultivate it [as a result]."
The minister said projections for the upcoming flood show that it will be below average. "The flood has been high over the past four years, and we had to release more water to lower the water level of Lake Nasser. As a result, people have gotten used to using a lot of water." The statement was coupled with emphatic reassurances that there would be enough water to go around this year as well. Abu Zeid asserted that the shortages being felt now were more a reflection of a gradual adjustment to the irrigation rotation system of the rice season, which would eventually end. An example of this adjustment is that some agricultural areas are provided water for four days then left without for 10.
The issue, it seems, is not one of supply but management. "We have a nation-wide system of joint committees between the Ministries of Irrigation and Agriculture which receive daily information regarding irrigation patterns. This information is then translated into adjustments in the irrigation rotation schedule. It is a computerised system that allows for a flexible and expedient adjustment. Now it is up to people to adjust to the system and make the best use of it," said Abu Zeid.
That is not enough, however. "Integrated management has become a must," Abu Zeid told reporters, "And not just for Egypt but for the world." Which is to a great extent why the seminar had been organised to start with.
The event showcased the work of four French private sector companies in Toshka -- Sogreah, BCEOM, Canal De Provence and BRL. According to Minister Abu Zeid "The experience of France in public-private partnership is one from which we can learn some lessons."
Attending the seminar was Jean Louis Oliver, representative of the French minister of Equipment, Housing, Tourism and Public Works, as well as Herve Piquet, on behalf of the French ambassador to Egypt. Toshka is an obvious starting point for foreign water companies, touted as an example of modern agricultural and irrigation techniques. As Diaaeddin El-Quosy, adviser to the minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, pointed out, what makes Toshka special is its "large size of land holdings (100 feddans plus), the small number of users, that there is no room for waste or misuse, the timely supply of water, integrated measurement, shared cost and research and development."
The companies had all produced elaborate and technical presentations of their work thus far. Abu Zeid said that despite the impressive work, there were many challenges that still had to be faced. "Water requirements depend on the rate and pattern of development, and so far we do not know how the developers of the four canals [comprising Toshka] will plan their cropping patterns. However, this phase is very important [in developing management techniques] because it helps to train our staff and has resulted in important studies related to drainage and the stabilisation of sand dunes, among other components."
In June, water management cooperation is set to be a main point of discussion at the G8 Summit in Evian, which will be attended by President Hosni Mubarak. Just last week Mubarak decreed the establishment of a holding company for the management of Toshka, as part of the institutional arrangements necessary to make it possible to work with investors.
