Cairo: Part 2

Cairo, much like the rest of Egypt, relies on the 1,600km of the Nile that flows through the country, for their water supply. Showers (2002) posits that Cairo is plagued with declining freshwater supply due to continuous discharge of agricultural discharges and untreated human sewage. This problem is further exacerbated as megacities industrialise and industrial chemical dumping becomes a regular affair. Showers also asserts that 60% of domestic waste remains untreated and is disposed of in the Nile River or is left in the streets of slums. Laws against dumping are of little effectiveness due to corruption. This is particularly the case in Cairo, where a lot of garbage ends up in slums like Manshiyat Naser, and the Zabbaleen (garbage people) inhabitants are partial to taking bribes (Elliot 2011).

The Nile however, is also affected from pollution further upstream in countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of Congo, some of which face extreme political and business corruption. Myllylä (1995) extrapolates that approximately 1,500 villages discharge their waste into the Nile further upstream. It was also estimated that 35 factories discharged 125 million m³ of industrial untreated wastewater in 1995… Imagine the figure after 20 years of industrialisation! 

Consequently, the Nile is facing increased pollution, which has given rise to water-borne diseases such as typhoid, parasitic diseases and bacterial diarrhoea. Whilst affluent areas of Cairo can afford clean, filtered water, that is not still subject to untreated sewage, slum and settlements cannot. This leads to death as a result of these diseases and financial inability for healthcare or water and sewage treatment systems. Other diseases include schistomiasis (from a parasite), which can lead to cancer and death.

Furthermore Alpeyrie (2013) also adds that in some cases, potable water from slums are actually diverted to wealthier areas of Cairo, who will pay more for it and are perhaps deemed more worthy as they contribute more to the economy, through higher human capital and employment in the formal sector.

However, there have been efforts to improve the water and sanitation system in Cairo. USAID (2015) invested $727 million from 1984-2006 to improve wastewater collection, treatment and disposal on Cairo’s West Bank. Leaking sewers and methods of irrigation on the water table created high saline levels and groundwater contamination. This led to structural instability of buildings and historic monuments. USAID lowered the groundwater tables and implemented upgraded sewerage systems.