Egypt: after the Aswan Dam
Ten years after its completion, the controversial Aswan High Dam's hydrologic and human consequences are clearer because of a joint US-Egyptian interdisciplinary study. Water supply and distribution is emerging as a major world resource problem with the recognition that unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation contribute to health problems. Dams provide water supplies, but they also create conditions favorable to the spread of water-borne diseases. The Aswan Dam solved problems of flooding and drought by opening 2.5 million acres to year-round irrigation, although some of the reclaimed land has been lost to urban expansion and shoreline erosion, and provides hydroelectric power. The negative effects include increasing soil salinity, changes in the water table, excessive downstream water plant growth, and diseases such as schistosomiasis and other intestinal parasites, and the social impact on the Nubians, whose homeland was flooded. Planners must use the information gathered in this study to see that the benefits outweigh the human costs. 22 references, 7 figures.
- OSTI ID:
- 5775468
- Journal Information:
- Environment; (United States), Vol. 23:4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
13 HYDRO ENERGY
DAMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
EGYPTIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
WATER RESERVOIRS
HEALTH HAZARDS
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
EMBANKMENTS
NILE RIVER
AFRICA
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
HAZARDS
RIVERS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
290300* - Energy Planning & Policy- Environment
Health
& Safety
530000 - Environmental-Social Aspects of Energy Technologies- (-1989)
130600 - Hydro Energy- Environmental Aspects