The predictability of the Nile River floods and the production of grains suggest order and stability. Throughout history the advancements of irrigation of the Nile, starting from natural irrigation and advancing to artificial irrigation and then the development of lift irrigation with the shaduf and then the Archimedes screw (or tanbur), and the saqiya (or waterwheel). From a water management perspective, all evidence known suggests that flood control and irrigation, at the social and administrative levels, were managed locally by the rural population within a basin. The rise and sustainability of Egypt, with so many great achievements, was based primarily on the cultivating of grain on the Nile River floodplain, without a centralized management of irrigation. What is so unique is that Egypt probably survived for so long because production did not depend on a centralized state. Collapses of the government and changes of dynasties did not undermine irrigation and agricultural production on the local level.
Ancient Egyptians lived in harmony with nature for thousands of years. Harmony with nature continued until the construction of the Aswan High Dam, which significantly changed the hydrologic regime of the Nile River Basin in Egypt (Fahlbusch, 2004). The modern Aswan High Dam is one of the most controversial of the existing big dams in the world. Economic benefits of the dam have never been in doubt and the dam has been important in Egypt’s economic survival. However, the construction of the dam was accompanied with many side effects that are still controversial. These side effects include channel degradation, silt deprivation, dune accumulation, coastal erosion, increased use of pesticides and fertilizers, rise of water table, problems of drainage, and changes in water quality. These were problems never faced by the ancient Egyptians. The dam prevents sediment from flowing downstream to the fields and to the Mediterranean Sea as was the natural course. Changes in water quality downstream from the dam include the drop in turbidity, increase in total dissolved solids, higher count of undesirable algae, taste problems, increased density of phytoplankton (Said, 1993). The downstream river is becoming a receptacle of domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastes, with conditions in the delta being even worse because of the reduced velocity of the river, concentration of industrial plants and more intense agriculture. Deterioration of the river has affected the fish population in the downstream river. The real question is, are these mega projects with their environmental consequences sustainable for the future?
World History
