The Controversy of The Aswan High Dam

The Controversy of the Aswan High Dam

Done by:

Allysia Dee (2)

Anne Huang (3)

Jeanette Chan (16)

Nicole Seah (31)

Joey Tan (34)

1 PE

The Aswan High Dam

Before the building of the Aswan High Dam, Egypt experienced annual floods from the Nile River that deposited four million tons of nutrient-rich sediment which enabled agricultural production. This dam was insufficient to hold back the water of the Nile and was subsequently raised in 1912 and 1933. In 1946, the true danger was revealed when the water in the reservoir peaked near the top of the dam.

The dam was conceived as an ambitious, multi-purpose project aimed at improving irrigation and water resource control and development, increasing cultivation, providing protection against high floods and severe drought, and facilitating navigation, fishery expansion and electric power generation, while minimizing harmful effects on the environment and the country's rich cultural heritage.

The Soviets helped the people of Egypt to design and build the granite dam, which is 3.26 km in length, and rises 111 m above the Nile River base. The dam was built about 13 km south of the Egyptian city of Aswan, and was named the Aswan High Dam.  The Soviets also provided the hydroelectric equipment used in the power station.  It took ten years to build the dam, at a cost of $1 billion.  The dam began operating in 1970, and has proven to be both beneficial and detrimental to the people and the surrounding land.

Importance of the River Nile to

EgyptEverything depended on the River Nile in ancient times as it still does today. It was an important part of Ancient Egypt. Without it there would have been little agriculture, transport and communication. It is unlikely that the ancient civilization would have developed. The River Nile has played a crucial role in developing ancient Egypt into what it is today.

The Nile's annual inundation allowed its banks to be fertile. This enabled the Egyptians to cultivate wheat, barley, beans, lentils, peas, leeks and onions, as well as fruits such as dates, figs, grapes and melons. This ensured that there was food for everyone.

The River Nile was a source of water for the Egyptians. The water was used for drinking and watering crops.

The River Nile was a source of food. It provided the Egyptians with fish.

The River Nile was a mean of transport for trade, allowing Egypt’s economy to develop.

Physical Geography of the Nile River and its valley

The Nile river valley’s geography is somewhat diverse. The river is 6,650 kilometers long and is one of the longest rivers in the world. It has two stretches of land around it and is very fertile land due to the rivers’ annual flooding. The Nile flows north because of the topography of the land and it also has many waterfalls.

The White Nile drains in the central lake region of Africa. While the Blue Nile begins in Lake Tana in western Ethiopia.

The two main tributaries of the Nile River are the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The source of the White Nile is the Kagera River, which is formed by headstreams in Rwanda and Burundi. The Blue Nile begins 1,785 m above sea level in Lake Tana, in western Ethiopia. The two tributaries converge in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan where they form the Nile River. The Nile River from source to sea has a total length of 6,695 kilometers. The mouth of the river is the Mediterranean Sea off Egypt.

Physical Geography of the Nile River and its valley

The source of the White Nile is the Kagera River. Flowing northward and then eastward, the Kagera is fed by rivers in Uganda and Tanzania before emptying into Lake Victoria. Leaving the lake in Uganda, the river flows generally northwest ward, passing through Lake Kyoga, dropping 40m at Kabalega Falls, and flowing into the northern tip of Lake Albert. The river turns sharply northward to cross the Sudan border, where it becomes the White Nile.

The Blue Nile is 1,785 m above sea level in Lake Tana, in western Ethiopia. Starting southeast ward, the river swings in a wide to cross the Sudan border, continuing northwest ward. It has no large tributaries, and gets its great seasonal volume from heavy summer rains. Continuing northwest ward, it drops gradually to the Sudan plateau and joins the White Nile.

The Nile proceeds northward into Egypt, and here, about 90 per cent of the people live in the narrow valley, which accounts for only about 3 per cent of Egypt's land. At Cairo the Nile splits into several distributaries that flow across the wide, fan-shaped delta into the Mediterranean Sea.

Advantages

Farmers:• Before the Aswan High Dams was built, the River Nile would flood every year. No one knew exactly when it would flood. Thus, many crops would be destroyed. Now, Control of flooding is carried out by the dam. By keeping so much water back in Lake Nasser, the River Nile rarely floods the surrounding farmland any more. With the floodsunder control, less crops will be destroyed and farmers will have a higher income. Also, the farmers would not have to worry about their crops getting swept away my the floods

• The act of keeping back the water from the River Nile has lowered its level, effectively creating new farmland by the river sides. This is also less prone to flooding. This allows the farmers to grow more crops at one time, earning more income.

• Before the Aswan High Dam was built, the River Nile used to flood every year. No-one knew exactly when the flood would occur. Now, the Egyptian government can flood the land when they need to. Farmers use water from the River Nile to irrigate their crops. With this means that the farmers would produce more crops. Farmers could trade their surpluses to earn money. They will also have a steady supply of water for irrigation. This leads to farmers producing more bountiful crops, rise in sales and profits.This enables Egypt to double its agricultural and farming production

AdvantagesVillagers: • By building the Aswan High Dam, it means that there is plenty of fresh and clean drinking water for the people of Egypt. They get their drinking water from Lake Nasser.

• The Aswan Dam is a hydro-electric power station and it produces10 billion kilowatts of electricity every year. Approximately one third of all of Egypt’s energy is created at the dam. The water from the River Nile turns the turbines and produces electricity. The electricity is taken from the dam by cables and is used in factories and homes all over Egypt. People use the electricity for cooking, lighting, watching television and many other activities.

• For the first time in history the annual Nile flood could be controlled by man. Since the floods could be controlled, less lives are lost and the people’s lives are safe.

• The Aswan High Dam provides a constant source of water to the people of Egypt. Water from Lake Nasser is pumped into people's homes all over Egypt and is used for washing, drinking and in washing machines.

• As the farmers are able to produce more crops at a time and the fishermen catch more fish, the people now have more food to eat. This improves the lives of the people.

Advantages

Fishermen:• Before the building of the Aswan High Dam, fishermen were scarce. Ever since they built the Aswan High Dam, the fish catch increased steadily and the fishing industry has expanded. Now, a large fishing industry has also been created because of the reservoir.

• Fish live in the lake and can be fished more easily by

those fishermen who used to fish in the River Nile. This improves their livelihoods and fish stocks can be replaced more easily.

• With the large fishing industry, the surplus of fish will be sold off with a net profit. This would increase the livelihood of the fishermen.

• With the net profit, fishermen could purchase more effective equipment which allows them to catch more fish at any one time. This would boost the fishing industry and this process will repeat to boost the industry even further.

Advantages

Environmentalists: • Environmentalists: • They can conduct more experiments to find out more about the environment and if successful can earn money.With the money, the scientists can campaign against the unwanted with their findings and hopefully stop it.

DisadvantagesFarmers:• When the Aswan High Dam was built, the sediments and nutrients that flow from the River Nile are now trapped in the reservoir behind the Aswan High Dam. This causes the soil in areas along the lower course of the river to become less fertile. Farmers would need to resort spending a lot of money to buy chemical fertilisers to make their lands fertile. This leads to farmers who want to save money for growing crops having to buy expensive fertilisers in order to produce as many crops, which leads to decrease in profit for farmers. Using artificial fertilizer, it reduces the foods’ nutritional value and may not taste the same. This may make the food not as sought after and the selling prices might be lower, causing a decrease in the net profit and in some cases may result in a loss.

• When the annual flood can be controlled, this means there will be no flooding or natural irrigation anymore because the water is let out of the dam at a steady rate throughout the year. Farmers would then have to artificially pipe the water to their fields or build costly canals to do it.

• When water evaporates in these hot areas, it brings salts to the soil surface.. Poor drainage of the newly irrigated lands has led to saturation and increased salinity. This is not good for the crops and over one half of Egypt's farmland in now rated medium to poor soils. Thus, farmers will have a lower income.

Disadvantages

Farmers:• Egypt is extremely hot so the evaporation from Lake Nasser is very high as a consequence and this means a lot of water is lost. Some of the water is also lost from Lake Nasser because of some leaks through the Aswan High Dam. When there is less water, farmers will have less water for irrigation and have lower income.

• When the Aswan High Dam was built, parasitic diseases such as schistosomiasis and bilharzia has been associated with the stagnant water of the fields and the reservoir. Farmers work near to water to ensure the easy transport of water to their fields for the irrigation of their crops. The farmers could be infected by schistosomiasis and bilharzia and they might get so ill that they cannot harvest the fields and grow crops. This would result in much lesser crops. This means that the farmers would have a lower income.

• When the Aswan High Dam was built, there is less water going downstream from the dam, the salt from the Mediterranean Sea has crept slowly inland, making the soil saltier than normal. This is harmful to the soil, making it unfit to use for growing crops. Thus, farmers have a lower income.

• Although there were some land gains from the building of the dam, there were much more losses behind the dam where the land was flooded to make the reservoir of Lake Nasser. Many farmers lost their farmland. With less farmland, farmers cannot grow as many crops and will have lower income.

Villagers:• Egypt is extremely hot so the evaporation from Lake Nasser is very high as a consequence and this means a lot of water is lost. Some of the water is also lost from Lake Nasser because of some leaks through the Aswan High Dam. When a lot of water is lost, there will be less water for the villagers to use for drinking, washing and other activities.

Disadvantages

• Although there were some land gains from the building of the dam, there were much more losses behind the dam where the land was flooded to make the reservoir of Lake Nasser. Many people were moved and made homeless.

• When the Aswan High Dam was built, parasitic diseases such as schistosomiasis and bilharzia has been associated with the stagnant water of the fields and the reservoir. Since Lake Nasser is a steady supply of water for the villagers for drinking, washing and other activities, the villagers might have been a victim of the diseases.

Farmers:• After the Aswan High Dam was built, there is less water going downstream from the dam, the salt from the Mediterranean Sea has crept slowly inland, making the groundwater saltier than normal. This makes the water unfit for drinking, washing or any other activities. Thus, the villagers have lost a source of water.

Disadvantages

• When the farmers grow less crops and the fishermen catch less fish, the villagers will have less food to eat.

Disadvantages

Fishermen:• With the large fishing industry, there will be a lot of competition for the fishermen for fish. With the competition, fish supply might deplete quite quickly which will result in the fall of the fish industry.

• The Nile Delta is the mouth of the River Nile. The delta provides nutrients for the fish living in the Mediterranean Sea. The Aswan High Dam causes the amount of nutrients deposited at the Nile Delta to decrease, in return causing the supply of fish to decrease. Thus, the livelihood of fishermen are affected and they earn a lower income.

Disadvantages

Environmentalists:•The resident animals beyond the Aswan High Dam will be harmed because of the change in the hydrologic cycle. The environmentalists would be affected as they care deeply about the animals and would be angry and upset with the people in charge of the Aswan High Dam.

Our DecisionAfter much contemplation, our group has decided to

KEEP THE DAM

Reason: For the first time in history, we have the ability to control the annual Nile River’s floodings.  During the rainy season, the water is captured by the dam, stored until times of drought, and then released as needed which benefits us greatly.   Over a seventy-year period as the population of Cairo grew from 2 million to over 16 million people.  With the increasing population came the concern that the flood would become increasingly dangerous.  Also, the annual flood was unreliable, one year, the floods might be low, resulting in weak soil that produced few crops. The next year, the floods might be high, destroying buildings, homes, roads, national monuments of utmost importance and washing away important features of the land.  With the increasing population, the unreliability of the flood, and various other factors, the Aswan High Dam was built, and man now can control the water flow of the Nile River.

Our DecisionReason:The Aswan High Dam has a positive impact on the rapid growing development of Aswan province, especially for the tourism industry, and the fishing success that had occurred after a brief decline in the fishing industry. This would allow Egypt’s trade to prosper, The majority of the Egyptian population lives in close proximity to the river, which means that the majority of the population depends on the river for irrigation, drinking water, electricity, or transportation. The dam allowed for irrigation systems to be built, thus increasing the amount of fertile land that farmers could utilize to cultivate their crops.Despite the many problems and concerns caused by the dam, we feel it has been a great success and has helped the Egyptian economy.  There is still much room for improvement, and hopefully new technologies will be implemented to make the Aswan High Dam and the Nile River beneficial for all.

Thank You So Much For Your Attention.