CBS: Ethiopia filling mega-dam that Egypt calls an "existential" threat
Ethiopia has dismissed reports that it's filling a massive reservoir behind a new hydroelectric dam, as the colossal infrastructure project strains ties between three African nations that all rely on the River Nile for water. Egypt has previously threatened to go to war over the dam.
Almost 10 years of negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt over Ethiopia's construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have failed to resolve the conflict. Recent satellite images from the European Space Agency show water filling the reservoir behind the dam, but Ethiopian officials insist it's just "natural pooling" from rainfall, not the start of filling operations.
All three nations share the water of the Blue Nile, one of the two tributaries of the River Nile. Sudan and Egypt insist an agreement on how Ethiopia will operate the new dam should be reached before the reservoir is filled.
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Update #1: Egypt accuses Ethiopia of stonewalling on Nile dam (Al-Monitor)
Update #2: Nile water an existential issue for Egyptians, Sisi tells AU chair (Ahram Online)
WNU Editor: Ethiopia wants the dam to provide electricity and water for irrigation. Egypt wants to limit what this dam can provide. I do not know how this can be resolved. There is no middle ground between the two sides.
6 comments:
Could Egypt mount a meaningful invasion of Ethiopia?
Can't they fill the dam up in spurts? Raise the level 10 feet ease up for a while rinse and repeat
My understanding is that vegetation increases rainfall. So you can pull yourself up by the boot straps at least to an extent. More irrigation means more plants, which means more transpiration ans also evaporation of irrigation water. It reverses desertification partially. The dam could mean more water for everyone in the region.
Only fill the dam up during the rainy season? With the dam there anyway it is going to catch a lot of the silt.
Does Egypt have dibs on the silt? That is a much harder case to make? After all that silt started as Ethiopian land?
The Egyptians are bunch of pricks anyway. They ran the Jews out. They are trying to run out the 10% of the population that is Coptic. Many of them 5% to 33% support terrorism. What is there to like?
I am rooting for the Egyptians versus the Turks but that is not in itself a stamp of approval of Egypt. IT just means that Erdogan sucks worse.
Why bother, they have enough planes to bomb it prior to its finish.
Bombing the dam would be an act of war. - Capt Obvious
If they are going to bomb the dam, they had better be fast. If they wait until there is a lot of water in the reservoir, and then they bomb and destroy the dam, it will result in a wall of water sweeping out of the reservoir, destroying everything in its path.
Next sizable town downstream is Ad Damazin, Sudan is 50 miles downstream. Not sure, if it would be affected.
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