Districts of New Cairo, among them Taggamou Al-Khames, Taggamou Al-Thales and Al-Rehab, are experiencing water supply problems, often for extended periods of time. Unlike many parts of Egypt, however, New Cairo has not been having power cuts. The water shortages are due to capacity shortfalls. “We have barely had any water for months,” one resident told the Weekly, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The water will go off during the day and then not come on again until the early hours of the morning. It means I have to stay up till four a.m. to do the dishes, something that was difficult to do in Ramadan because I wanted to cook earlier in the evening.” Her neighbour said that she had not been able to cope. “The only time the water is on is at five in the morning, and we don't have any for the rest of the day. I have to ask friends and neighbours for water, and the whole thing is very difficult, as I have to get up to go to work in the morning. If this goes on we will need to buy our own private water tank and pump,” she said. The problems started some years ago. In July 2010, inhabitants of the Al-Rehab district complained of the water cuts, which local authorities said were due to problems with the main supply. The cuts then spread to Taggamou Al-Khames and Taggamou Al-Thales. By July this year, residents of the three districts were going without water for up to 20 hours a day. Some people have now resorted to buying water or installing pumps in order to get the quantities of water they need. The Ministry of Housing has vowed to solve the problem soon, with ministry advisor Sayed Ismail saying that the cause of the problems is temporary and will be resolved once new utilities are installed. “New Cairo has seen a significant increase in the number of residents in recent years, putting pressure on the supply. The new water plant near the AUC campus in Taggamou Al-Khames provides half a million cubic metres of water a day, but due to completion problems with the plant and the increase in population there is still a shortfall of some 150,000 cubic metres a day,” he said. “The problems really began in May this year and extended into the summer, the peak period for water consumption,” Ismail said, adding, “Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and Minister of Housing Mustafa Madbouly have put pressure on the companies to resolve them. “The problem has been that New Cairo is 360 metres above the level of the Nile, meaning that water has to be pumped upwards. The project has included 31 km of pipes and cost LE3.2 billion in investment. Problems occurred when leakage took place and when the demand for water was greater than what had been planned for,” Ismail added. “The problem has been compounded by new shops and malls opening in the New Cairo district, further increasing the demand for water, and by people hoarding water through the use of private tanks at home or in businesses. “There have also been problems when pipes have broken and when electricity supply problems have led to pump failures,” he added. “Political and social issues over recent years have meant that many projects have been delayed and there have been unauthorised building projects. “Nevertheless, there is every reason to feel optimistic that the problems we have been witnessing in New Cairo will be resolved. We have a shortfall of about 20 per cent in terms of the district's water needs, but there is every reason to hope that once the current difficulties are resolved this shortfall will be covered.” The ministry, Ismail added, is weighing its options. “We can't leave the water plant in Taggamou Al-Khames uncompleted, but at the same time we can't simply run it with all the problems that have been experienced. We need to think of practical solutions. “There is another large plant in Al-Obour that already provides New Cairo with 360,000 cubic metres of water a day. It is already supplying Al-Obour itself with 660,000 cubic metres of water per day, and on 15 September we increased the supply by a further 400,000 cubic metres to bring it up to one million.” In addition to the intervention by the ministry, water companies have also been doing their best to solve the problems, Ismail said. Even if the water shortages cannot be immediately overcome, the idea is to ensure that everyone living in New Cairo receives water for at least three to four hours a day. “The companies have installed special pumps to supply more water. These pumps were installed in Taggamou Al-Khames and Taggamou Al-Thales on 27 July, and the companies also installed a new supply line from Al-Obour in September, after modifications to the plant were completed,” Ismail said. “We have linked up with the Al-Obour plant to provide New Cairo with more water, though this caused teething problems when the supply went off for 12 hours last week. But by the end of this month the water problems in New Cairo should have come to an end.” He added that the ministry is also working on addressing water problems elsewhere, including supplying drinking water to areas that are currently receiving no services. “We want to provide 4,200 villages in Egypt with proper services, and if proper financing is available this should be possible over the next ten years. We also intend to end the problem of Nile pollution by building more sewage-treatment plants and tightening up on regulations. “The idea is to give maximum priority to such projects and to carry them out as swiftly as possible so that people can really feel the difference in their lives.”
