Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel Muttaleb said that the share of water for each Egyptian citizen stands at 640 cubic meters, which is lower than the international standard of water poverty that stands at 1,000 cubic meters.
He expected the share to decrease to 370 cubic meters by 2050 because of the growing population.
“The Egyptian water supply faces internal and external challenges including a decrease in each citizen’s share of water and the spread of pollution," the minster said in a speech on Monday. "The national plan for water resources depends on protecting the Nile from pollution, reducing water consumption in agriculture and drinking water and reducing losses in irrigation and drinking water networks."
Abdel Muttaleb also said that overcoming these problems requires cooperation between a number of ministries.
He added that the water deficit currently stands at 30 billion square meters annually.
The deficit is made up for through reusing agricultural drainage and waste water, by raising the efficiency of water networks and by developing irrigation in the Delta and Nile Valley regions.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
