| Before the building of the dam at Aswan, Egypt experienced annual floods from the Nile, which deposited 4 million tons of nutrient-rich sediment, which enabled agriculture production. The USSR offered to help Egypt build the New or High Aswan Dam. There were certain provisions however. Along with money, they also sent military advisors and other workers to help enhance Egyptian-Soviet ties and relations. |
Abu Simbel
|
In order to build the dam, both people and artifacts had to be moved. Over 90,000 Nubians had to be relocated. Those who were living in Egypt were moved 28 miles away but the Sudanese Nubians were relocated 370 miles from their homes. The government was also forced to develop one of the largest Abu Simbel temples and dig for artifacts before the future lake would drown the land of the Nubians. |
|
There were several problems with the dam as well. For instance, seepage and evaporation accounts for a loss of about 12-14% of the annual input in the reservoir. Sediments over time have decreased the storage capacity. This has resulted in problems downstream. Farmers have been forced to use artificial fertilizer as a substitute of nutrients, which no longer fill the flood plain. Further downstream, the Nile delta is having problems due to lack of sediment as well since there is no additional agglomeration of sediment to keep erosion of the delta at bay therefore, it slowly shrinks.
Poor drainage of the newly irrigated lands has led to saturation and increased salinity. More than half of Egypt’s soils are rated medium to poor. |
| << Previous Page |
Next Page >> |
|
