The Nile River from the Egyptian side (iStock)
Egypt faces one of the highest water budget deficits in Africa
In a very dangerous development that does not portend good, the Nile Delta region is experiencing widespread heavy metal pollution, with coastal erosion amid seawater intrusion, which constitutes an existential threat to the region, and a danger to 60 million people in Egypt.
For years they relied on the region’s resources for every aspect of life, according to research from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
One of the highest deficits
The Nile Delta is an important stopover for migratory birds on their journey along the East African Flight Path.
In turn, the study leader, Egyptian scientist Issam Hajji, who resides in the United States, explained that the effect of pollution is becoming particularly evident in Egypt, as the most populous and driest country downstream of the Nile, which relies entirely on the river as its only source of drinking water and crop irrigation.
He added that the country is currently facing one of the highest water budget deficits in Africa, after decades of compensating for dwindling water supplies through extensive and extensive reuse of wastewater.
Hajji emphasized that a civilization that thrived in a picturesque waterscape for more than 7,000 years is now facing the reality of this large-scale and irreversible environmental degradation.
Sediments at the bottom of the Nile
It is noteworthy that the study was conducted by researchers from the United States and Egypt, led by Hajji, who analyzed grain size and contamination levels of eight heavy metals in samples from bottom sediments.
These sediments were collected from the two branches of the Nile River Delta, and they confirmed that the sediments at the bottom of the Nile River were heavily polluted with heavy metals such as cadmium, nickel, chromium, copper, lead and zinc.
They added that these pollutants mainly come from untreated agricultural drainage and municipal and industrial wastewater. Without proper treatment of recycled water, heavy metal concentrations increase and become permanently incorporated into the river bed, unlike organic pollutants that naturally degrade over time.
From the Nile River in Cairo before pollution (iStock)
They also explained that concentrations of heavy metals could be exacerbated by increased dam construction on the Nile River, as huge dams built upstream disrupt the river’s natural flow and sediment flow, thus negatively affecting its ability to expel pollutants into the Mediterranean Sea, leaving toxins behind. It accumulates in bottom sediments over time.
It is noteworthy that there are expectations that the Renaissance Dam will affect the water budget deficit in Egypt, at least during the periods of filling and drought.
As the reuse of agricultural drainage is very likely to be compounded, bi-treated municipal wastewater with high concentrations of heavy metals and other pollutants may also be used.
