As the electricity crisis in Egypt worsens in recent months, citizens in several governorates are also facing frequent water supply interruptions in their homes. This has sparked widespread concern about entering a water shortage crisis, especially in light of ongoing reports about the fifth filling of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam this July and its direct impact on Egypt’s water share.
Read also: Egypt’s Water Woes Deepen with Ethiopia’s Latest Dam Filling
Various areas in Giza governorate, including Faisal and Hadayek Al-Ahram, have experienced water outages lasting between three and five consecutive days. Similarly, water interruptions have been reported in the governorates of Sharqia, Aswan, Alexandria, Marsa Matrouh, Cairo, and Beheira, with residents reporting a 20-day complete water outage last June, as expressed in complaints shared on social media.
Despite this, the government has repeatedly increased water prices over the past years. The first hike in 2016 saw a 25% increase in water tariffs at that time. In 2017, the water company announced another price hike, raising the first consumption tier (0-10 cubic meters) to 45 piasters per cubic meter from 30 piasters. The second tier (11-20 cubic meters) increased to 120 piasters from 70 piasters per cubic meter, the third tier (21-30 cubic meters) rose to 165 piasters from 155 piasters, the fourth tier (up to 40 cubic meters) increased to 200 piasters per cubic meter, and the fifth tier (above 40 cubic meters) went up to 215 piasters. In 2018, the government announced another price increase, with the first tier reaching 65 piasters per cubic meter, the second tier rising to 160 piasters per cubic meter, the third tier to 225 piasters, the fourth tier to 275 piasters per cubic meter, and consumption exceeding 40 cubic meters per day costing 315 piasters, according to the official gazette.
The government justified these increases as part of an agreement with the European Union under the Neighborhood Policy program, committing to an annual increase in domestic and commercial water tariffs for five consecutive years until the tariffs reflect the actual cost.
Residents from various governorates who spoke to Zawia3 said their bills have doubled since the beginning of 2024, coinciding with ongoing water outages. The Holding Company for Water states that the crisis is temporary, resulting from renovation and maintenance works in several governorates, causing continuous supply interruptions. However, unofficial reports indicate a major crisis in Cairo’s ability to meet its drinking and agricultural water needs due to the decline in Nile water levels, leading to lower water levels in canals and secondary drains, with the state unable to provide alternatives thus far.
Some governorates, notably Marsa Matrouh on the northern Mediterranean coast, have recently adopted a “water load reduction” policy amid a severe crisis that has affected the governorate for months.
The Drinking Water and Sanitation Company in the governorate posts daily water pumping schedules on its official Facebook page for various areas, allowing residents limited hours to meet their daily needs or store enough water to offset the outages. The price of a water tank has reached around 1,500 EGP.
Egypt faces an annual water deficit of about seven billion cubic meters and could run out of water by 2025, with an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide expected to live in absolute water scarcity due to climate change, according to the United Nations.
Difficult Living Conditions
Residents who spoke to Zawia3 described their living conditions amid frequent water and electricity outages as extremely difficult. Soham El-Sayed, a twenty-something lawyer residing in Hadayek Al-Ahram, Giza, said they have been suffering from the ongoing crisis for months without a solution or with temporary fixes that bring them back to square one. She pointed out that the entire area has been without water for three days, with the government company justifying the outage as necessary for repairs, promising to resolve the issue soon, but that never happens, according to Soham.
She said, “We are a family of four. I struggle daily to provide for the basic needs of my two children amid the scorching heat, which can reach up to 42 degrees Celsius during the day, and electricity outages. Due to the heat, my child suffers from severe allergies and needs constant bathing and hygiene, but the water we get is very limited and sometimes scarce. We constantly buy drinking water, which is very costly, while some neighboring families are forced to drink unclean water because they can’t afford bottled water.”
Regarding how they manage water under these circumstances, she sarcastically said, “We’ve gone back to the era of the water carrier who used to carry water and distribute it to homes in old Cairo more than a hundred years ago. Today, we buy water from some itinerant vendors.”
The water crisis is a violation of a fundamental right, as Article 79 of the Egyptian Constitution states that “every citizen has the right to healthy and sufficient food and clean water, and the state shall ensure the provision of food resources to all citizens. The state shall also guarantee food sovereignty in a sustainable manner, and ensure the preservation of agricultural biodiversity and local plant varieties to safeguard the rights of future generations.”
The state is also obliged to develop a comprehensive national plan to address the problem of informal settlements, including re-planning, providing infrastructure and utilities, improving the quality of life and public health, and ensuring the necessary resources for implementation within a specified timeframe, according to Article 78 of the Constitution.
From Faisal, near Hadayek Al-Ahram in Giza, Hagar Ismail said, “The situation has become routine. For years, water has been cut off throughout the day, only available at dawn. We fill and store water to meet our household needs, like cleaning and washing dishes, during the early morning hours. Recently, the crisis has worsened, with water outages lasting up to a week in some areas. With electricity cuts, the water pumps don’t work, making life nearly impossible, especially with children and the high temperatures this year. We don’t know what to do.”
She continued, “We contacted the water company and the district presidency, submitting dozens of complaints. They promised to resolve the crisis, but each time, nothing changes, or the solution lasts for a week or ten days at most, and then the outage resumes.”
She also criticized the excessive increase in water prices despite the crisis, noting that bills have tripled since the beginning of 2024. Previously paying 50 EGP per month for water meter recharge, she now finds 200 EGP insufficient, urging the government to address the frequent outages and consider citizens’ interests.
In Sohag, Moamen Abdel-Razek faces similar issues, saying that basic services are no longer available amid water and electricity outages. “My son is in high school, taking exams now, and my elderly mother lives with us. We all suffer from the water and electricity outages, especially with the high temperatures and the authorities’ lack of response to repeated pleas,” he told Zawia3.
Last Tuesday, seven governorates experienced complete water outages in some of their villages. In Dakahlia, the villages of Al-Manayel, Al-Abed, Kafr Al-Tar’a Al-Jadid, Al-Jazar, and Al-Khillala faced long water outages and low pressure, forcing residents to buy water tanks at 100 EGP per cubic meter and fill bottles from neighboring villages. Residents in eastern Aswan, especially in the districts of Kima and New Friendship, complained about water outages, especially on upper floors, during the day. In Kafr El-Sheikh, the villages of Riyadh, Biyala, Hamoul, and Metoubes experienced water outages due to power cuts at water stations. The water crisis also persisted for the third day in Menoufia and New Valley, with urgent pleas from citizens going unanswered.
Hundreds of citizens have posted complaints and pleas on social media, demanding a solution to the crisis. Laila wrote on a group for Faisal residents, saying, “We asked the water company about the continuous water outages in Faisal, and they said Faisal is an informal area with a large population that has increased recently with the influx of refugees from neighboring countries.”
Laila added that the company said, “Your water quota is small and fixed and doesn’t meet the needs of the original residents, and it won’t increase with the rising numbers. It won’t increase soon as we need to distribute water to new cities and neighboring compounds, so get used to the water cuts.”
She stressed, “The issue has nothing to do with the metro or maintenance works. There is no intention to increase Faisal’s water quota.”
Last Tuesday, the Giza Drinking Water and Sanitation Company announced a complete water outage in Hadayek Al-Ahram due to a power cut at the October New Water Station in Al-Ayat, halting the October New Station that supplies the Ahram Plateau pump. To mitigate the impact, the company pumped the available water from the reservoir.
The company added that it coordinated with the October Authority to increase water pressure to the Ahram Plateau to fill the networks and reservoir adequately.
What Are the Reasons?
For three consecutive days, Zawia3 contacted officials at the General Water and Sanitation Company and within the governorates of Giza and Cairo, as well as several heads
of the affected districts. Some refused to speak, while others asked for time to verify the information, and we received no responses by the time of publishing this report.
A source within the Giza Water and Sanitation Company, who preferred to remain anonymous, informed us that there are instructions not to speak to the media about the issue and to rely solely on official statements. He noted that the crisis is extensive and covers many areas, requiring initial handling before providing detailed information about what happened.
Similarly, we contacted Hussein Hesham, a Member of Parliament representing the Al-Haram and Hadayek Al-Ahram districts, who confirmed the crisis and said that the company is working to resolve it as soon as possible, acknowledging the residents’ suffering from the current situation.
Hesham attributed the primary cause of the water outages to maintenance work in various areas of Giza, including Hadayek Al-Ahram and Faisal. He assured that once the updates are completed, the situation will return to normal and even improve, as the area has faced numerous issues related to infrastructure and population density, which have hindered water access to some places, and efforts are underway to address these problems.
Former parliamentarian and member of the presidential council of the Conservative Party, Talaat Khalil, said that Egypt faces a water provision issue that is as critical as, if not more severe than, the electricity crisis. He explained that the main reason for the water outages is the drop in water levels in the secondary canals, which prevents the pumping stations from operating at full capacity, leading to water shortages in homes—a problem that currently lacks a real solution.
Khalil added, “The water outage problem is old and used to occur intermittently. During my time in parliament, I conducted many tours and monitored the operation of water units with officials. I believe the current, ongoing outages are due to the lowered water levels and the inability of the stations to work at full efficiency.”
He linked the crisis to the implications of the fifth filling of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, emphasizing that Egypt is on the brink of a “water poverty” disaster, especially if Ethiopia continues its dam operation policies during drought periods. Egypt has demanded that the dam be operated only during flood periods to minimize damage, but no agreement has been reached yet, and negotiations are stalled.
Egypt relies on the Nile River for 97% of its water, facing a deficit of 54 billion cubic meters annually, as its water needs amount to around 114 billion cubic meters per year, while the available water resources total only 60 billion cubic meters annually. The High Dam power station is the largest hydroelectric power station in Africa, with a total capacity of 2100 megawatts, according to the official website of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.
Estimates suggest that Addis Ababa plans to retain an additional 23 billion cubic meters of Nile water, on top of the 41 billion cubic meters already stored in the previous four fillings. The filling process is being conducted independently of Egypt and Sudan, with Egypt being the most affected due to its water scarcity, according to UN estimates. Additionally, Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam has stated that Egypt’s water resources are estimated at about 59.60 billion cubic meters annually, compared to water needs estimated at about 114 billion cubic meters annually.
Khalil explained that when the water levels in the canals drop, reserves are tapped, resulting in lower water availability, which fails to reach many areas. He noted that he observed similar issues during his tenure representing Suez Governorate.
Khalil stated that alternatives are neither available nor easy at the moment, and Egypt cannot rely on desalination plants to cover the deficit due to the high cost of desalination, which can reach 30 EGP per cubic meter.
According to Khalil, the crisis has not yet started and is expected to escalate in the coming period. He clarified that the 55 billion cubic meters of water received from Ethiopia are insufficient to meet even 50% of the needs, assuming the full quota is received, which is unlikely given the filling and operation of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Khalil believes the crisis lies with the Ministry of Water Resources and not the Drinking Water Company. Regarding the price hikes, he attributed them to both government measures and a culture of misuse among Egyptian citizens, who have considered water a free resource for decades and have often used it wastefully.
As complaints about repeated water outages in homes and businesses increased, responsible authorities denied any water crisis, attributing the frequent interruptions to maintenance work or necessary repairs, causing ongoing frustration among citizens, especially with rising water prices without official announcements.
