CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on Tuesday launched a new electronic system to monitor the performance of water pipes in various governorates. A cabinet statement indicated that the new program will supervise and evaluate the quality of water resources to protect the health of the citizens as well as monitor the pressure levels of main water pipes. The new system cost LE 42 million and was financed by the Egyptian Executive Authority for Water Resources and Sewage and is located at the Egyptian central water station in Rod El-Farag. Also on Tuesday, Nazif opened a new lab at the Egyptian Holding Company for Water and Sewage in Shoubra El-Khaima to conduct tests that will detect bacteria and impurities. The LE 31 million project was financed by the European Union. The new projects came on the heels of two major water crises in two cities in Egypt. Last month the Banha (capital of Qaliubiya governorate) local council discovered that sewage water was leaking into lakes used to irrigate agricultural land. According to an official report issued by the council two days ago, "a leakage occurred in the sewage station last week, leading the impure sewage water to reach agricultural land and lakes used for their irrigation. Last month, another sewage leak in Al-Baradah village led to a typhoid outbreak in the village, infecting in around 311 citizens at the end of last month. Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza has also recently announced that his ministry had discovered some agricultural projects that use sewage water for irrigating food products. He has launched a campaign to eliminate and criminalize the practice.
