Photographs obtained by Zawia3 documenting sewerage problems affecting Abu Al Rish residents. (Original document in Arabic; its relevant contents are explained in the English text.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn Gabal Al Zalat, in Kom Ombo district, resident Al Shazly Abu Al Wafa Ahmed describes a similar absence of basic services. The sewerage pumping station is not working and household connections remain unfinished. Cesspits and stagnant water stand beside apartment buildings, the school and an electricity transformer, creating persistent health and environmental hazards.<\/p>\n
He says residents also lack security services and public transport. A five-a-side football pitch is inactive, while the bakery has been closed for more than 11 months, forcing families to pay daily travel costs to obtain bread in Kom Ombo. An unlit access road runs beside an uncovered drain without protective barriers, which he says has contributed to repeated accidents.<\/p>\n
He calls on officials to visit Gabal Al Zalat and see conditions for themselves, saying residents are being denied safe basic services and a dignified life.<\/p>\nPhotographs obtained by Zawia3 showing sewage conditions in Gabal Al Zalat. (Original document in Arabic; its relevant contents are explained in the English text.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/svg><\/div>\nAgeing networks and allegations of corruption<\/h2>\n Mohamed Kamal Al Hakam, secretary-general of the Misr 2000 party in Aswan, describes the crisis as deeply rooted. He says networks have not undergone genuine replacement or renovation for 50 to 60 years. Bursts occur almost daily, including on the Corniche, Al Aqqad Road and the airport road, which are usually prepared for official visits; poorer neighbourhoods face still worse conditions.<\/p>\n
He attributes the situation to what he describes as entrenched corruption within the water company, alleging that a particular group continues to control management through successors even after some of its senior figures retired.<\/p>\n
\u201cAswan\u2019s residents suffer above all from sewage bursts and repeated pipe breaks, in summer and winter, particularly during rain and flood seasons,\u201d he says, citing deteriorated networks and old pipes, including asbestos pipes that he describes as internationally prohibited. That description is his claim, rather than a statement that every country applies a universal ban.<\/p>\n
He identifies the densely populated eastern district\u2014Al Sail, Kima, Kima hamlets, New Al Sadaqa, Al Hakroub and Al Gezira\u2014as especially affected. Streets in areas such as Ezbet Al Nahda are repeatedly flooded. He says the pressure main serving Al Karour\u2019s station No. 11 burst twice in fewer than ten days, with repairs largely limited to temporary measures.<\/p>\n
Al Hakam estimates monthly support from the holding company for wages at EGP 16\u201317 million, and monthly receipts from bills, pipe connections and meters at more than EGP 50 million. He also gives an annual revenue estimate of EGP 400\u2013500 million, saying service quality has not improved accordingly. These are his unaudited estimates; the stated annual figure does not correspond to twelve months at the monthly amount he cites.<\/p>\n
He alleges documented irregularities involving a contracts official who used loopholes in the electronic system to issue several meters while registering only one. He says oversight bodies established violations, and reports that an employee implicated in the case later died by suicide. Zawia3 does not independently establish those allegations or a causal explanation for the death.<\/p>\n
He also alleges that inactive meters belonging to people abroad or properties closed for years were reactivated to serve new customers, producing unlawful collections. He says the Administrative Control Authority intervened and employees were held accountable or dismissed. These allegations are attributed to him; the company\u2019s response to infrastructure complaints appears below.<\/p>\n
The sewerage crisis coincides with rising groundwater in villages of Kom Ombo, north of Aswan. In Fatira, water has inundated streets and entered homes, some of which have cracked or collapsed. Residents interviewed by Zawia3 say the failure to bring the new sewerage network into operation has complicated the situation.<\/p>\n
<\/svg><\/div>\nGroundwater floods Kom Ombo\u2019s villages<\/h2>\n Abdel Rahman Mostafa, a resident of Fatira Bahri, says groundwater has been rising since 2021, with water reaching roughly 30 centimetres above floor level inside homes. He dates the problem to a year after Hayah Karima work began in the village and says repeated complaints and social-media campaigns have brought no lasting solution.<\/p>\n
He says neighbouring Al Hagandiya and Al Kagoug face similar structural damage, including collapsed houses. Officials recently began digging a groundwater extraction well on the governor\u2019s and Kom Ombo council chairman\u2019s instructions, but he says it has not fully addressed a crisis larger than the partial measures attempted so far.<\/p>\n
Water remaining beneath homes for three or four years has caused collapses, he says. Many families are poor and live in red-brick or mud-brick buildings vulnerable to seepage. He says affected residents have received no compensation and requests for replacement units in state housing schemes have gone unanswered.<\/p>\n
Mostafa says the water or wastewater company has not carried out extraction measures in the village, describing official activity as limited. He again calls for compensation and a durable solution.<\/p>\n
Al Mohammady Ahmed, another Fatira resident, reports a sharp rise in groundwater over the past five or six years, coinciding with sewerage construction. The first stage, including pipes and a station, is finished, but the project has not begun operating.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe groundwater does not only emerge from below; it spreads over the surface, flooding streets and homes. Some houses have been completely inundated, causing serious losses and the collapse of a number of homes,\u201d he tells Zawia3.<\/p>\n
\nHe says governorate technical teams arrived during the preceding two weeks to dig an exploratory well and determine whether the water comes from underground seepage or surface sources. Tankers continue to pump water out and transport it away, but he says this has not resolved the underlying problem.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
MP Reham Abdel Nabi, representing southern Upper Egypt for the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, says Aswan\u2019s water and sewerage infrastructure is severely deteriorated. She acknowledges important Hayah Karima projects\u2014schools, service complexes and youth centres\u2014but says the sewerage projects residents most relied on remain incomplete. Most have not opened despite announcements more than a year earlier of completion rates above 90 percent.<\/p>\n
<\/svg><\/div>\nFunding shortages and stalled projects<\/h2>\n \u201cThe delay in bringing sewerage projects into operation is a real crisis,\u201d she says. \u201cThe initiative began around six years ago, and its first phase was supposed to finish in only three years. Continuing like this raises questions about implementation efficiency and project quality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nShe criticises repeated failures in pipes installed just two or three years earlier, alleging corruption and poor workmanship by contractors using non-compliant materials and officials accepting work without enforcing technical standards. These are the MP\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cSome areas, including Abu Al Rish Bahri and Qibli, still have no sewerage networks despite being in the heart of Aswan,\u201d she says. \u201cThey depend entirely on cesspits that overflow into streets and homes. I have personally intervened several times to secure suction tankers, which are in short supply in the governorate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nShe says Aswan\u2019s rocky, sandy and clay soils, together with long distances between villages and districts, create additional difficulties. Contractors can falter or stop work without effective mechanisms to compel completion.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The groundwater crisis in Fatira and Al Kagoug, she argues, reflects accumulated neglect and poor management rather than a sudden event. She says inadequate follow-up and delayed intervention have allowed damage to worsen until some homes collapsed.<\/p>\n
Asked about replacement housing, Abdel Nabi says the governorate lacks the funding and resources to deal with the scale of the problems. MPs are pressing ministries and other authorities for budget allocations. She says Aswan\u2019s tourism, agriculture, therapeutic tourism and industrial potential deserve better public services, and calls for public interests to take precedence over personal ones.<\/p>\n
Responding to residents\u2019 complaints, an official in the Aswan Water and Wastewater Company\u2019s media department says Al Karour\u2019s recurring sewage bursts involve the pressure main serving station No. 11. The main has not been formally handed over to the company and remains the implementing contractor\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n
<\/svg><\/div>\nOfficials cite technical problems and divided responsibilities<\/h2>\n The official says the company nevertheless sends its pressure-main maintenance department to coordinate urgent repairs with the contractor whenever a break occurs, to reduce harm to residents.<\/p>\n
\nThe disputed main was built approximately ten years ago, the official tells Zawia3. Outstanding technical concerns about construction and operating pressure have prevented formal acceptance.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Abu Al Rish, the official says, has no sewerage network and relies on private cesspits, placing it outside the company\u2019s direct technical operating remit. Introducing sewerage there is the responsibility of the governorate and the National Organisation for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage, as the implementing authority.<\/p>\n
Al Sail is densely populated and has officially documented abundant groundwater, the official says. Company maintenance teams repair burst water and sewerage pipes and replace damaged sections. Sewerage is being introduced into Fatira Bahri, but groundwater falls under the Groundwater Sector of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation. The company\u2019s pumping there, the official says, is a community-service intervention rather than a statutory responsibility.<\/p>\n
Under Hayah Karima, the national organisation builds sewerage projects, while the company operates and maintains them after formal handover. The official says the company has not yet received the vast majority of those projects, but still responds to emergencies in and outside initiative areas to minimise harm and maintain services.<\/p>\n
An Aswan governorate official, speaking anonymously, says Al Karour\u2019s sewerage crisis dates back to 2004, with repeated promises of a station that did not materialise. Approvals for a new station have recently been obtained, the official says, but rocky soil makes construction more complex and expensive; building and commissioning a station can take up to two years.<\/p>\n
Some older networks were built without adequate regard to the terrain, the official acknowledges. Faulty gradients have contributed to blockages and bursts. The governorate is addressing these problems progressively and does not announce projects before completion, the official says.<\/p>\n
The official also attributes some failures to residents putting solid waste and concrete into sewers, sometimes causing complete blockages requiring expensive replacement. The official says failure to empty cesspits regularly in higher areas allows wastewater to run downhill and damage neighbouring homes.<\/p>\n
The official says Hayah Karima\u2019s first phase in Aswan is nearing completion, covering three districts, and some areas are candidates for the second phase under the approved plan. Drinking-water coverage nationally is higher than sewerage coverage, the official adds, saying the initiative has improved both.<\/p>\n
Aswan\u2019s proximity to the Nile naturally contributes to high groundwater, the official argues. This cannot be eliminated entirely, but its effects can be reduced through collection wells, which are costly and require substantial resources.<\/p>\n
The official acknowledges risks to some older buildings, especially mud-built homes exposed to prolonged seepage, but says those risks do not apply to every property. Residents have a right to complain, the official says, while arguing that some complaints do not reflect the full technical picture.<\/p>\n
Aswan\u2019s infrastructure crisis exposes a deep gap between official messaging and residents\u2019 daily lives: a city promoted as a global tourist destination, while people confront sewage, polluted water and health risks inside their homes and streets. Repeated failures, delays in commissioning completed projects and divided responsibilities keep the crisis unresolved.<\/p>\n
Explanations based on geography or residents\u2019 behaviour do not remove the consequences of years of weak planning, inadequate oversight and neglected maintenance. The health and economic burdens fall most heavily on vulnerable communities. In a governorate with such tourism and human importance, safe water and sewerage are a test of development that provides security, dignity and equitable services.<\/p>\n
How long will Aswan remain caught between postponed promises and unfinished projects, while residents seek lasting solutions that guarantee a clean environment, safe services and a life worthy of the city presented to the world as the jewel of the south?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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